January 22, 2013

The Urgency of Educational Reform in the United States: Lessons Learned from Fethullah Gulen

Sheryl L. Santos, PhD

Abstract

The United States of America is facing many challenges to its educational system and infrastructure. However, I believe that none of these challenges are as critical to our survival as teaching students to embrace their humanity as members of a culturally and linguistically pluralistic nation in a dynamically changing world. Undeniably, we live in an interdependent world where actions taken in one part of the globe can upset the balance of nature worldwide, destroy ecosystems, and create social, economic, and political instability causing human suffering of catastrophic proportions; of this we see proof daily. It is simply not adequate to define educational excellence in terms of academics and test scores. The exclusion of the intercultural attitudes, communication skills, and behaviors that prepare students for living, learning, and working in a world in transition condemns our youth to lives of ignorance and mediocrity. Citing the successes of Gülen-inspired educational projects, this paper will discuss the need for curricular innovations in the American educational system and how the educational philosophy and ideas of Fethullah Gülen might be applied. The application of intercultural and interfaith dialogue as viable approaches to fostering peace, justice, and harmony will be examined in the context of our national identity and educational foundations.