Historically, Education was a privilege. It was also elective. Many parents on farms, gave their children basic instruction on reading and writing, and arithmetic.
At what point, did education shift from a right, to an enforced obligation? who came up with that brilliant idea?
Should education be required? What if it wasn’t?
Kids have a natural curiosity/ They are inherently inquisitive, trying to learn about the world around them as it presents to them. So what happens in the educational system that kills this? hopefully, if needs have been well and adequately met at the earlier years- this is less likely to be the case. Especially if the old-model is broken and rebuilt. Kids should enjoy learning. the distinctions between formally educated and home schooled kids is phenomenal, stunning and frightening. Home schooled kids- learning is an ongoing and engaged experience 24 hours a day. It is not something that is squeezed into a certain 45 minute period and then stops. It is not necessarily broken down into neat categories. Life is not that way, the brain is not wired that way. So why are we perpetually teaching that way?? Formally educated children shut off all learning processes the minute they walk out the classroom door; and frankly, they were never that turned on when they walked IN that classroom door.
Choice: if education was not mandated- every single kid would know when they walked through that door, that they had CHOSEN to be there, at some level. Choice is huge in terms of creating commitment and involvement in the process. One of the biggest things schools SAY they want to teach their students is decision making. And yet the one BIGGEST decision.. is not theirs to make: whether to be there. If they are not making that one, not ALLOWED, to make that ONE single MOST important decision.. everything that follows.. is negated.
Secondly, if every student knew he or she had chosen to be there, at some level. they also know that they are not being FORCED to be there. They can get up and walk out that door at any time they like. However, just like in real life, or a job, they would be accountable for their actions. Every day they are there, is a contractual agreement. And by showing up, they are agreeing to certain terms and expectations: a social contract of educational expectations.
thirdly, Every student will also know that as much as they have the right to not-be there.. They can also have that right, that privilege, removed from them for not meeting the expectations and agreements. This empowers everyone involved. Being kicked out of school is a very real possibility. A game changer.
How might that play out on the ground? With most families having two working parents? Parents would be much more likely to make sure their child is cooperating, compliant and up-holding their part of the agreement- whatever that agreement may be, in any particular educational environment. Parents would be taking heed of child’s progress and participation, since being dismissed from school would be a very real possibility. A call from school would have weight.. something a parent needed to pay attention to. The alternative to being in school is arranging for day-care themselves, or some other form of mentoring situation. How many parent are really going to want to address that? Not many. So they are going to make sure they instill in their child, on a regular basis.. the importance of, being prepared ( by asking them), checking on their progress, asking if assignments are done, what help they might need- etc.
Will some children fall through the crack? Probably. BUT- those kids are already falling through the cracks. They are being passed without learning. If education was not mandatory- a teacher might have more latitude about which students need to repeat a year( or maybe half-years, like colleges have semesters). But ultimately, a teacher has more power within her classroom- since a student can be removed. The educational journey and process, shifts from being a teacher-centered power.. to a partnership and cooperation.
As students get older, they may find that they don’t like school. They might have a few various
OPTIONS: the regular classroom with a different teacher/approach
a vo-tech program- many of which are available today, a growing approach to the regular classroom, so long as it is an equal calibre of learning
online programs and home schooling.
apprenticeship: Restoring the old traditional model.. a child goes to work with a relative, who has a career that either interests him or suits him/ her in some way.
Or maybe the child will just gravitate to something of interest, hanging out around a construction site, or following around the repairman when he comes to te house. Fetch and grab for someone.. put them to use/ work as they present themselves.. kids WANT to feel useful, helpful and essential to whatever community they are associating with.
There are soooo many possible models, by which kids can acquire the skills and learning they need to be successful in life. Should that path be one that is killing the very best parts of who they are? How can we bring out the best and brightest parts of ALL of our kids?
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In the UK we have ‘Education Otherwise.’ They help parents with necessary procedures to educate a child at home. I made use of their support when my son (with other children) experienced abusive teaching practices from a teacher who should have been on sabatical.
Early on during my son’s schooling I also used the existence of Education Otherwise to inform a head that I have the right to educate my child at home, and that I will give my son the choice if she doesn’t make sure he enjoys school. Things improved and my son chose to go back. The possibility of such choice is very empowering for a child.
I have thought long and hard about keeping life long love of learning alive and how it is killed in a school system that is so broken it CAN NOT BE FIXED.
first of all schools, I feel need to be much smaller, many small buildings within each neighborhood, offering different choices all around. hands=on tech schools are VERY important for all ages. let there be animals to take care of plants to grow, and most of all people caring for other people. NO MORE PRISONS FOR SCHOOLS. LOOK AT THE WORLD TODAY AND YOU WILL HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT WILL INTEREST KIDS. SHOVING OLD ENGLISH LIT, CHEMISTY, TRIG, BASIC SCHOOL DOWN THEIR THROATS IS DOING NOTHING. I AM NOT SAYING DO AWAY WITH IT, but whatever is introduced must start at an early age, and then the child decides to grow with it or not. this is just the beginning of my thought s and would love to get feedback, my thought get overloaded because my passion about this subject is so overloaded.
Hi Teri,
My question is: When did parents stop having the responsibility for how their children were raised?
Newsflash: these children are born in our society – yes. We should all particpate in civic responsibility – yes.Taking the parents out of the equation makes them all “our children” and thus the system of the mass educational manufacturing system to take care of “our children”.
Therein lies the fatal flaw. Being born into the society that we share does not endow the government with the responsibility of managing how children are raised. Each invididual is endowed with inalienable rights from birth in this country. Legally, the parents (unless reliquished) have rights and responsibilities to protect, nurture and educate their children. The parents should be working with their children either directly or by providing suitable educators.
The system of placing 20-30 young children of similar age into one room and expecting them to yeild their attention to one adult is ludicrous. This is very unatural looking at healthy childhood behavior. So, a classroom is basically teaching a child to ignore all of their inherent instincts towards creativity, learning, interacting, etc. Then they get to be judged on how they can perform in the public forum as related to their peers. Kids aren’t even allowed to be judged on their own individual abilities anymore. These are children who are in the process of growth.
Unfortunately, our current system is in the business of making little robots.
And the first step, is of course, take away the power of the parent to intervene.
These are not “our children”. We share a society, but a society of free people – not a society where you must give up the rights to raise your children as you choose. My answer is let the parents be parents, not just taxpayers for someone else to raise their children for them.
Mary Ann
MaryAnn,
I most regards, I completely agree with you about the parents role and power to make choices regarding their children: from educational choices, even to when to allow their children to have a glass of wine with a special dinner. On that score, I grew up remembering being at a restaurant, and my sister being underage, and asking for a “something” I don’t remember. The waitress, looked to my father for permission. He nodded his head and that was that. I am not saying parents should allow their kids to get rip roaring drunk regularly– although now that I think about it.. maybe if a kid did get good and drunk within a safe environment ( note, I refer to incidental, rather than deliberate).. they might discover the ” lack of fun” of the feeling.. NOT in the company of peers where puking becomes a badge of honour.
anyway- I do admit that we live in a very complicated society/ culture- where the basic tenets of social structure and community have broken down. Is this incidental to too much bureaucratic control? Is there a correlation?
I remember two stories that ilustrate this:
The first, when I was getting a ride with the two truck driver nearby. he was from.. Bosnia(?), and had come over here as a refugee. We had a really interesting conversation en route. He noted that in his country, they have large families- BUT, they have no concept of NOT taking care of your family. There is NO state support for families/children, etc.
the second- is from a mayan Medicine person, who noted the problem in this country- is that we, the US, ala western culture– we make roofs that last. HUH!? he went on to elaborate with a cultural comparison. In his country, Guatamala, they build out of very ecological materials ( my insertion). They have storms and other things that happen. At some point, they know there will be a storm, or other incident. At that time, they know they will need their neighbors help to repair the roof. As a result, they always maintain good relations with their community. when their neighbor needs help, they go.
This is very similar to the Amish barn building. if someone’s barn burns down. The next day ( or so) there is a barn building- the entire community shows up and builds a barn. Very simple. Everyone comes together, to support the individual in need. is this socialism? I don’t think so. Not at all. It is a healthy community taking care of its members as they need.
So, back to the western plight. We have roofs that last, in this instance those roofs are the form of daycare, early childhood internvention, etc. We do not NEED to maintain good and close relationships with our families, both immediate or extended. We do not need to fall back on their support for our most essential aspects of Life- our children and our shelter.
is this deliberate? I don’t think so. But, I do know ANY source of power, prefers to keep a disbalance, in order to assure minimal and unsuccessful opposition to the established status quo.
What is our role and response? STOP enabling a system that dis-ables US. In the same way, I have noted- mainstream medicine is fantastic.. there are some things it does phenomenally. BUT, it should not be the first stop in our health-care. WE should be the first and most important arbiter of our health. In the same way- WE need to come together, support our communities, build a stronger social infrastructure, so that “the system” be it state, private, or corporate.. is the means of last resort.
That is where and how we will begin to find our own powers and move forward as a society. The big question is– how do we do that….?
Education is a big part of that. As you note- sticking 20-30 kids together in an artificial environment is more about the convenience to the system and the teacher, than it is about the kids– much the same way birthing babies on the back, in a bed.. is more about the convenience to the doctor.. than the best interest of the pregnant mother. Go figure!
The system by which children are educated, what they need to learn and measuring that success is both academically and socially flawed. We have been taught from young ages to equate success with very narrow yard sticks.
the country Bhutan, next to India, does not have a gross domestic product, the way most countries do. They measure gross domestic happiness. How’s that for contrast? And until just prior to allowing in telecomm companies and television- there was virtually no crime, no murder rate, NOTHING that the rest of the world, particularly the modernised world shares. Not so any more. What does that say about causes of our problems. I wonder if sociologists are studying this phenomena, as it is a very carefully contained and clear constraints delineating before and after:)
thanks for sharing:)
Teri