My thoughts on why schooling doesn't work

[whistlingwings]

A lot of people have come up with solutions to fix the school system because according to them it is far from ideal... they're right, but I think they're missing the point. The solutions they propose are generally: change the cirriculum, give more money to the schools. I might be missing something but those seem to be the top two. And these would certainly help but only within a limited framework.

I think it would be worthwhile to think about how people (and not "children", people - children are people, right...?) learn before offering solutions on how to fix anything. In my experience people learn when they're interested by something, if you're disinterested in something the chances of anything happening are smaller.

With that in mind, I offer this solution. Allow the children to choose what they want to do. The "solutions" people offer tend not to be because they all have one common mistake, it assumes children are incapable of thinking for themselves and so they (erroneously) make the decision for them. A child should be able to choose whether they want to attend school (either public or private), or be homeschooled or unschooled.

[Aviator]

I agree.

Let the kids work on something that they're interested in. Even not working on anything at all and merely socializing is more constructive than working on something that we'll never remember.

However, I do think that some direction would be appreciated by the students.

If the goal was just to "Teach yourself", I don't think a whole lot of learning, or meaningful learning, would go on. Not at the present time. This generation has already been trained to be too dependant on the teachers to direct them. It saddens me how dependant on teachers my classes are. Have you ever noticed - when the teacher leaves the room, how little goes on? Everyone just stares at the wall or begins acting like monkeys.

However, if a new education system was phased in, where the students were taught to teach themselves, over time, things would be better. Starting in like, 5th grade, they would impliment this system, where kids are taught to read things that interest them and discuss those things with their class.

But anyway, I still think there needs to be a sense of direction. It is my opinion that instead of having classes, they should have projects which would have open ends, and push the kids to teach themselves things instead of just taking notes. These projects would last a week - and every hour spent at school would go into these projects. Although, it would be the responsibility of the students to manage their time and get it done.

There would be no classes, but teachers would be on hand to ask questions of and assist if needed. Kids could work in groups, pairs, or independantly, depending on their preferance. They could also move freely about the school, use electronics, and eat wherever they want. These projects would be things like building a rocket out of household materials (like two liter bottles) that travels 100 feet up, preparing a debate over an important issue, and building a wooden house model - all things that require some actual creativity and brainwork, and mix a variety of classes together.

At the end of the week, the project would be evaluated. Constructive criticism would be given, and then a new project assigned. It'd teach creative thinking, group work, as well as develop writing skills, leadership skills, and a greater understanding of how things work - because to be able to build something that works, an understanding would need to be had.

In the meantime, students could talk to one another - while working, take breaks to look up something that interests them, or go for walks/play sports if they chose to.

[Amortisatie]

Oh Aviator and your long posts

In short, I agree

-we are people too, and are equal to ones who claim they have "authority" over us
-we should have a choice in what we learn
-we should have a choice whether we go somewhere or not
-adults are too brainwashed and retarded to figure that out

[SoulRiser]

As long as the guidance/direction stuff is optional too, I'm all for it.

[Sunbourn]

That was a godly post Aviator. I jizzed in my pants at the library over it.