Philanthropist Model

Philanthropist View:

Although the mission statement of the wealthy philanthropist’s plans might state that the goal is to use his Western expertise to develop a school system for the poor, rural, agriculturally based and less industrialized country to “help bring them into the 21st century, the statement implies that that the benefactor believes that there are characteristics about the indigenous society’s educational system that are flawed. The philanthropist’s desire to inject the Western world’s form of education as the primary source of instruction suggest he holds views that are aligned with definitions of the Deficit Model. The Deficit Model observes the world from an ethnocentric perspective that leads to interpretations of phenomenon
Rural communities tend to be collectivistic in nature. Within this type of society, members have assigned roles that bind community members in such a way that interactions occur in accordance with what is best for the community as a whole. Individual needs are often set aside to ensure the community remains as strong and norms remain stable. Allowing a Westerner to teach a most valued treasure, a child, might not only change the dynamics of social order but may also put the child’s spirit at risk do to the loss of the informal opportunities to pass on sacred and valued rituals and customs. Societies generally have life lessons that fathers teach their sons or mothers teach their daughters, and grandparents teach their grandchildren, releasing this responsibility to someone outside of one’s family might be thought of as a sign of dishonor. It might also create significant differences in the way the youth make sense of the world vs. how elders make sense of the world, which would only add to the decay of social order. There might also be concerns of violation of sacred relationships with the natural world and sacred grounds. There also might be concerns about known indigenous societal values that conflict with Western cultural values. In addition, community member may fear loss of identity, power and influences that might cause youth to desire to abandon their indigenous culture or relocate to an urban area. Finally, there are those who do not believe that Western society can teach community children anything that will help them survive in natural environment because of the Western worlds continued disregard of mother