We destroy the disinterested (I do not mean uninterested) love of learning in children, which is so strong when they are small, by encouraging and compelling them to work for petty and contemptible rewards — gold stars, or papers marked 100 and tacked to the wall, or A’s on report cards… in short, for the ignoble satisfaction of feeling that they are better than someone else…. We kill, not only their curiosity, but their feeling that it is a good and admirable thing to be curious, so that by the age of ten most of them will not ask questions, and will show a good deal of scorn for the few who do.
– John Holt, How Children Fail
There were no sex classes. No friendship classes. No classes on how to navigate a bureaucracy, build an organization, raise money, create a database, buy a house, love a child, spot a scam, talk someone out of suicide, or figure out what was important to me. Not knowing how to do these things is what messes people up in life, not whether they know algebra or can analyze literature.
– William Upski Wimsatt
Think of the things killing us as a nation: narcotic drugs, brainless competition, dishonesty, greed, recreational sex, the pornography of violence, gambling, alcohol, and — the worst pornography of all — lives devoted to buying things, accumulation as a philosophy. All of these are addictions of dependent personalities. That is what our brand of schooling must inevitably produce. A large fraction of our total economy has grown up around providing service and counseling to inadequate people, and inadequate people are the main product of government compulsion schools.
– John Taylor Gatto
Because schools suffocate children’s hunger to learn, learning appears to be difficult and we assume that children must be externally motivated to do it. As a society, we must own up to the damage we do to our children…in our families and in our schools. We must also be willing to make the sweeping changes in our institutions, public policies and personal lives that are necessary to reverse that harm to our children and to our society.
– Wendy Priesnitz
I'm very worry about school system... Why? Take a look on my CV and you will see: I HACKED EVERYTHING!!! And you know what? I'm very proud of this because it's my success! I protected my imagination and my creativity! You have to know that I have the passion of learning everything because I'm very curious! I am grateful for my host country and for knowing what is necessary: to write, to read and to count. Without this, I would never have been able to make my dream come true, nor establish my website and all the content! I could end up as a doctor because I had the ability but that wasn't what made me happy. We always knew what I would be since I was five: an artist. Why are adults always there to think for us? I had abilities for jobs that ensure "financial security and recognition or even respect" in a society. I fought to be me no matter the damage because my life is mine. I lost everything at the age of seventeen and I was leading a wandering life. I'm happy doing what I love to do: spending my time on photography, writing, singing and traveling. Yes, of course I would live better financially if I was a doctor, but I would spend my life lying to myself. I will spend my life telling myself that my life has been stolen from me. I won't know what true happiness is to come true and see my childhood dream come true. I always felt like I was living in several dimensions and on other planets too. Imagining legends, telling us stories and exploring the world like an adventurer.
What do I think of education these days? For sure, I'm one of the people who want an evolution... All the problems that children and adolescents have at home, everything is reflected in school. There is more and more violence, school harassment, judgment and so on. You don't learn the necessity and values: to love, to respect each other, to make friends, confidence, freedom, kindness, wisdom, how to be happy, how to express your emotions and how to make our dreams come true. You don't learn to become and to be a human being. Although I loved school because it was the place where I could escape from home, I chose my freedom and to learn about life on the road. I wanted to nourish myself with knowledge, human values, wisdom and go at my own pace. There was no structure for gifted students. There are several types of intelligence: IQ, EQ, absolute sensoriality and more. We don't have only one way to learn! My favorite was the classes when we were outside. In my opinion, it's up to adults to adapt to the profiles of children since we are all unique. It's up to adults to guide them and help them achieve their goals. Some children are multi-skilled and don't want to stop at just one job!
There are schools that are growing and that take everything into account: respect for our environment, well-being, spirituality, awareness, creativity and more. They are often private and very expensive. I would like free learning. It must also be open to adults and their facility to be happy in what they like to do. Work contributes to our happiness!
留言