Translating The Song Where is the Love by The Black Eyed Peas

Education is not about facts; education is about knowledge, the application of information, and the exchange of ideas. Education can be formal (from school), or informal (from tv shows, books, friends, or the et cetera). I’d rather not call school ineffective, as I am an education major, but to be honest - what we are doing isn’t working. Traditionally, it is taught that if one goes to school and works hard - one will succeed. However, that is partially wrong - there is no single path to success. My definition of education is inspired by my experience translating the song “Where is the Love” by The Black Eyed Peas.
Malcolm X once said while in prison, “the best thing I could do was to get hold of a dictionary -- to study, to learn some words.” The way he says it can be a little deceiving; it seems almost as if Malcolm X just innocently wants to learn some words. X, however, didn’t just want to learn the meanings of these words - he wanted to learn how to use the words. X’s experience is similar to mine while interpreting the song; before I was able to translate the song, I had to learn what the song meant. American Sign Language is unique in that it is about expressing an emotion and a concept, so every sign can take on its own inflection. Because ASL is about the big picture, I could not translate the song word for word, instead - I had to look at it as a whole and read about what the writers were feeling while making the song. This is the knowledge; the who, the what, the where, the when, the why, and the how.
Translating a song involves a certain amount of interpretation; it isn’t just about what the writer intended. Translating a song is about how I, as the listener, feel about the song, and what the song makes m...

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... a quote from Fran Lebowitz, in its entirety, it is: “In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra.” I take this quote to mean that one can’t just ‘plug in’ information to get the answers to one’s problems in life. Schools teach students knowledge, but they hardly ever teach them how to apply what they have learned to their lives, which is one of the faults with schools. This is similar to just knowing facts; knowing only facts is like having raw meat, but no way to cook it! It is important to know things, but we must also be able to apply this knowledge. Schools should be encouraging students to have life experiences, because that is how one learn to actually use what is learned. Schools give a basic education, but there is much more to be learned outside of school - and what is learned outside of school is a major factor in deciding success.