What Are We “Teaching” Our Children?
March 15, 2010
There is no such thing as “teaching”. Some people present information and ideas, but those are only of use to the student if the student is interested enough to learn and apply them. Otherwise, at best, students will memorize, regurgitate, and forget whatever they are “taught”.
Our school system is obsolete, because it focuses almost exclusively on what should be taught, and how to measure whether that was accomplished. But, as Oscar Wilde said, “Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” Instead, schools should focus on helping students LEARN, based on their interests, aptitudes, and internal motivations.
It is quite admirable for the government to make a free education available to any child that wants one. But, to make school attendance compulsory, and then fail to provide adequate resources to those schools, such that our only options are mediocre public schools, expensive private schools, doing the schooling ourselves, or going to jail for non-compliance, strikes me as a bit unfair… perhaps even unconstitutional, under the 13th Amendment (involuntary servitude).
In fact, this reminds me of the draft, which allowed our government to make it required for individuals to serve in the military. The government decided that the way to show patriotism and love of country was to be willing to kill and die for it. Some people, obviously, disagreed. They became conscientious objectors (aka: draft-dodgers), and were persecuted for staying true to their pacifist values.
The government has decided to require our kids to attend school, and has determined that a proper education is whatever their government-appointed gurus decide. In essence they are saying, “You must educate your kids in the manner we say is appropriate (namely memorization, graded stratification, standardized testing, competition, punishment, compliance, etc.)., or you will go to jail.” The laws of compulsory attendance are as narrow-minded and despicable as the draft.
A few states, like Texas, recognize a parent’s right to decide what is best for their children. There, you can choose public schooling, if you are comfortable with it. You can choose private school, if you can afford it. Or, you can choose to educate your child in any manner you believe is best. Once you get on the homeschool path, you are not required to prove anything about your child’s education relative to that of the same-aged kids who are in school.
Most states PRETEND you are allowed to homeschool, but still require that you teach most of the same stuff that kids learn in school, and that, at the end of each year, you can demonstrate your child knows what other kids of the same age know. This makes NO SENSE at all. “Teach him what you want, as long as he ends up learning what we think is important.” All this does is replicate the school method, at home. It is merely a change of venue, not an entirely different approach to education.
My issue, though, isn’t about homeschool vs. regular school. My concern is that the system our predecessors came up with to educate kids was created a LONG time ago. The education system has not been significantly revised, improved, or re-designed since then. Updating the content of the textbooks, and replacing notebooks with laptops, doesn’t really change anything. The system is still the same: “teachers” getting kids to memorize information, often without any useful or relevant context.
“Information is not knowledge.” –Albert Einstein
These are different times, which require a whole new skill set. Memorization (the pillar of our current system) is pointless in a world with Google and Wikipedia at everyone’s fingertips. Creativity, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and global awareness are just a few of the skills kids should be discovering in schools today… but aren’t.
Remember Sting’s song, Russians? “What might save us, me, and you, is if the Russians love their children too.” This means, if they love their kids as we love ours, then surely we won’t nuke each other.
Well, if WE loved our children, we wouldn’t leave them so ill-prepared for the future they will face.
If we loved our children, we would stop treating them like masses of sheep, needing to be herded mindlessly from grade to grade, and we would start honoring them as individuals. We would recognize that kids have different interests, different aptitudes, different ways of learning, and that every kid shouldn’t have to be an expert at every subject.
I was the perfect, well-rounded student. I had straight A’s in every subject, academic and extra-curricular. All this means is I am a “Jane of all trades, but master of NONE.” I dabbled in everything, but never specialized in anything. I have no skills in any one area that I love enough, or am good enough at, to dedicate myself to.
“Better know nothing than half-know many things.” –Friedrich Nietzsche
In school, I was never encouraged to think for myself, or to discover what I love more than anything else. School did not prepare me to find meaningful work in the real world. Schools taught me a bunch of random stuff, and they taught me how to follow directions. I learned how to win at any game in which the rules are clearly stated, and every player is bound by them. Life is not this kind of game.
Why are we still doing things this way? When we prepare our children for adulthood, whether in homeschools or regular schools, they should be learning:
How to find work that is meaningful to them, and makes a positive impact.
Compassion and respect for others, no matter how different they seem.
How to be healthy and whole, so they can love themselves and others, including their spouses and children.
A basic understanding of what came before (context), so they can appreciate what they have now, and build on it to create a better future.
How to think for themselves, be creative, and resourceful.
How to manage disappointments, failures, and stress in healthy, productive ways.
Pie in the sky, you think? This is too difficult or impractical, perhaps? Yeah… you’re probably right. We should just give up.
I guess we should stick to teaching our children how to memorize the same, useless, boring facts for 12, 16, 18, or 20 years, because that’s much easier for us than creating something new. After all, we are but products of that same system. We don’t question things. We don’t think for ourselves. And we sure as heck don’t come up with better ways to do things. We just stick to what we know… we do things the way they’ve always been done. Best not to make waves, or get in trouble.
When our kids get through with school, they can each, individually, struggle to unlearn a bunch of stuff and teach themselves what really matters. Why would we deprive them of the experience of re-inventing the wheel? Eventually, they will learn all of the truly important things they had access to all along, but were too busy memorizing facts, and jumping through hoops, to have the time to explore. Eventually, they will find themselves again, as we are all doing now.
Is this really the best we can do for our kids?
Really?!
If we know the system is broken, but we do nothing about it, what are we “teaching” our children?
*
UPDATE: A friend just informed me of a (free) Charter school in Austin, where kids can attend for 4 hours each day, then spend the afternoons pursuing their passions, whether artistic, athletic, whatever. I believe they are now full (no new enrollments), and I can see why, but the neat thing is that some communities are STARTING to try new and improved ways to help kids learn. We need more of these schools.
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Lisis,
What a brilliant post. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. It is almost as if you wrote this post especially for me. It resonated!
I was also an academically brilliant student, straight As, the “teacher’s pet,” popular, sociable, the life of the party and miserable. It was a sad childhood for me. I feel tearful right now.
Why?
I hated school and would always look for ways to escape it. I was the kid who always searched for an “exit strategy.” The moment the teacher’s back was turned, I was outta there, that’s for sure.
Why?
I wasn’t a lonely kid at all. In fact, I had too many friends, relatives and other people in my life. However, I was alienated from the world of nature. I had only one true love: the outdoors.
And what do guys–in general–love to do in the outdoors? Why, play sports, go swimming, climb trees, long walks, explore the wilderness, go camping, etc. There are so many possibilities here.
I was so bored in school, that I would fall asleep in class. The system did not allow us to give expression to our physicality. People like me who have good motor skills don’t really belong in any in-class environment that stresses the wrong things: what a kill-joy system.
And I was considered a “gifted” student also, because I wrote poetry and had my articles published in the media and so on. And yet, I was a troubled kid. If only the school system would cater to the individuality of each student instead of imposing rules, the world would be a much better place. Otherwise, you suck the life out of a kid, the kid I used to be.
We should have a school system that taps into and releases the inner potential of every kid. If a kid likes music, he/she should be encouraged to pursue that field. And be provided resources, facilities for the same. Similarly, a kid like me could have proved beneficial working on a farm or garden or as a professional athlete.
Mercifully, today I have just returned from a longish stroll and feel on top of the world. Finally, I feel at bliss after all these years. If only more kids were allowed to experience the thrill of fresh oxygen in their lungs and a little sunshine on their shoulders, just like the John Denver song. Alas, but cheers to you.
Hey, Archan! I’m so glad this post resonated with you because (as you can probably tell) it’s one of my “hot topics”. This kind of stuff sets my soul on fire. I can’t imagine why we waste perfectly good childhoods sitting in classrooms.
I’m ALL for education, knowledge, learning, curiosity and passion, but NONE of those are the primary objectives of our current school systems (which most homeschoolers are bound to, by law, as well). Compulsory schooling is just a way to put all the kids in one place, where someone can keep an eye on them (tiny prisons).
I guess the theory is, after the age of 6, if kids are left to their own devices, “the devil finds work for idle hands” and they will become criminals, or something. We need to contain them, and give them tasks to keep them busy… for 12+ years. What a waste of life!
Anyone who has had to miss school for an injury or anything else, knows the work can be made up in a fraction of the time. One week’s worth of school work can be done at home in a few hours, to get the kid back up to speed. Why in the world would we make all our kids spend a whole week sitting in a classroom, when they could learn the same amount of stuff in less than a day?
Like you, I think most of us EVENTUALLY return to the stuff we love… the seed that was planted in each of our hearts when we were born. But can you imagine, if we had been encouraged to nurture that seed all along?! Bliss, I tell ‘ya!
Thanks for being here, and sharing your beautiful story with us.
A big issue, not just in the States but throughout the world. In my country Zambia, the educational system is build around the system that was left by the British… and not much different from what is obtaining in most parts of the world in so far as the “system” is concerned.
What i am grateful for however, is that in our time, we have access to readily available information that can help us make better choices as to how we would “raise” our kids. Within the limitations the legalities that exist from country to country, we just have to continue encouraging our kids and provide an environment where they can “learn the way” but still find their own way.
Thank you for your post. You are really going after “them”. Great and valuable stuff.
.-= Christopher Kabamba´s last blog ..6 SIMPLE Ideas from the Last 6 Years =-.
Hey, Christopher! I wondered what it was like in other countries. I know, when we lived in Costa Rica, we put Hunter in a pre-school for a while, so he could go to the same school as his cousins. A few months into it I was overwhelmed by the useless, trivial tasks the teachers and administration obsessed about. (I took him out!)
They get so concerned with kids coloring within the lines of life, and following instructions like good little ants, that they miss the bigger picture. Each child has unique, amazing, important skills and talents that he/ she could use to make the world a better place. But all of those need to be shelved for a few decades, until they are free to explore them… if they still remember how (or even care anymore).
What you say is true, that we can “supplement” the crappy educations by helping our kids on the side. But that still doesn’t convince me that they should waste their lives sitting in classrooms and following orders. Kids who survive the system, and learn, do so despite the schools, not because of them. Those kids would learn no matter where you put them.
The others, the ones who give up and just coast through school, barely grasping, often cheating, doing the minimums to get by… they deserve better.
Have you ever noticed that when the students do well, the schools get all the credit? (Great school… excellent program… dedicated teachers…) But when the students do poorly, the schools don’t take the blame. Those students are “bad apples”, they don’t apply themselves, they don’t have the proper support structure at home. It’s a lose-lose proposition for the student. What kind of motivation is that?
I just think they deserve better, and we can do better. The answer isn’t to pull a few kids out of school and let them explore the world on their own. That is only the beginning… a testing ground to experience what is possible. Real change will happen when we re-design the system that affects ALL students.
Great to see you again, my friend.
I totally agree with you. It is Massive change that is needed
I wish all parents would pull their kids out of these schools.
Maybe politicians and the policy makers would begin to think twice concerning the school systems as they stand today.
As always, thanks for your inspiration.
.-= Christopher Kabamba´s last blog ..6 SIMPLE Ideas from the Last 6 Years =-.
That’s what may, eventually, come to pass. As more and more concerned parents pull their kids out of the system (and those schools lose some of their better students) they may need to re-evaluate their archaic business model.
I’m doing my part… I took mine out, and I’m sharing the experience with others. If I can think of other ways to help tip the balance, I’ll certainly pursue them.
Excellent post, Lisis. I’m quite glad to see an article like this one.
[[ Otherwise, at best, students will memorize, regurgitate, and forget whatever they are “taughtâ€.]] – Precisely! This is exactly what my daughter is going through today. She’s just about to finish her first year on gradeschool and it makes me extremely sad to see her experience the same things most of us had been through when we were her age. As much as I would like to make things different for her, I have to consider how other people around me (the wife, the parents, the in-laws) would react if I did things my way. They know not any other system of education aside from that which is given by our democratic, resource-driven, and materialistic society.
[[Why are we still doing things this way?]] – Probably to push ourselves to the next stage of human evolution. I see it this way:
1. The society produces “human” commodities by educating kids who then grow up to become employees and laborers.
2. These people then work for the different institutions in society.
3. The institutions then fund scientific and technological projects.
4. The scientists and engineers who work on these projects are constantly finding ways to decipher how nature works.
5. Once we have sufficient knowledge of how nature “really” works – KABOOM! lol
[[Pie in the sky, you think? This is too difficult or impractical, perhaps? Yeah… you’re probably right. We should just give up.]] – The internet has helped a lot in driving our collective consciousness toward a different direction. Change may be difficult to see today, but if the human population can grow exponentially, how much more for awareness? =)
[[If we know the system is broken, but we do nothing about it, what are we “teaching†our children?]] – It probably depends on one’s way of thinking. Those who haven’t risen above their culture will teach their kids the same thing they have been taught by their parents. Those who have achieved higher levels of consciousness, together with their kids, will probably be our the catalysts for change.
Keep up the good work! I’m with you on this one. =)
.-= Ryhen | Mind Power´s last blog ..Psionic Power: Knowledge Of The Past And Future =-.
Thanks, Ryhen! I’m so glad you enjoyed this post. And I totally feel your pain about your daughter’s school experience. Even the “positive” ones (absent of any abuse or violence) are usually, at best, boring. I know from taking Hunter out of school that there is no easy alternative. Pretty much everyone I know or meet assumes I am “depriving” Hunter of all sorts of things by not having him in school. I have to justify it constantly.
This whole thing reminds me of that saying, “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” Giving a kid a diploma, allows him to get a job. Giving a kid the opportunity to learn what he is passionate about, allows him to create meaningful work for himself (and probably others).
I know this system pretty much feeds ready-made employees into standard jobs, and it works on that level. Kids go from classroom to cubicle and just follow directions, do as they are told, and cause little trouble.
But what if all these graduates were thinking, creating, and passionately approaching life? What sort of evolutionary leap would be possible then? Particularly if they are also infused with a sense of compassion, and social responsibility, instead of stratified competition and every man for himself (like they are currently taught)?
It’s worth looking into, at least.
To tell you the truth Lisis, I have been a flunker during my academic years. I don’t believe that what I learn in school would benefit me internally. But then I realized that we are following a blind system of education where we are thought to comply with antiquated systems. Much as I want to believe that we can do something about it, human nature presides. It is said that salvation is a personal choice; we have to make it on our own.
Hey, Walter… I believe you are right that it is, first, a personal choice. I suppose those of us who have left the school system, and do so in growing numbers each year, are exercising our individual rights of civil disobedience. We are casting our vote for a better system.
I would LOVE to be able to send Hunter to school, have some free time for myself, and feel certain that he was getting everything he needs and deserves in life. Currently, I don’t have that option. If I want to give him the freedom to learn, I have to take responsibility of it myself… and tackle the laws, and the Department of Education as needed. I am the buffer between his freedom and a system which seeks to suffocate his curiosity and love of learning. But many parents don’t have the option to do it on their own.
Maybe, over time, with enough silent protests (homeschoolers) and enough questions raised, and enough lights of truth being shone on the broken systems, we can effect change that will help all the kids… not just the privileged few. All major social changes happen a little bit at a time, from the ground up. But if we don’t even question or think about these things, nothing will ever change.
That’s so interesting that men are responding to your article other than the usual HomeSch Mom (like me). I hate to say it, but without the cooperation of both women and men, the system will remain the same. I put my children in public school part time when they were 14 just because we’re in the boondocks and they wanted to be with other kids, but I customized their experience with the downside of no public high school diploma. I didn’t want to make them suffer through 4 years of bland english/social studies/and other stupid requirements.
I gained confidence when another HomeSch mom gave her son a diploma that she downloaded and printed herself. He took the SATs and got into Maine Maritime Academy.
My 18 yo son is already working for an IT company part time. He was worried about not getting a high school diploma, but as time goes on he gains in wisdom. He went to school full time for the first time his senior year because he wanted to and I’m glad to see that he now understands why I homeschooled him in the first place.
We’ve contacted some colleges and internships and they have been very excited about him. That’s helped his confidence too. There are quite a few homeschool friendly universities.
This is SO true. Many universities and progressive places of employment actively seek out homeschoolers, because they understand that these are kids who love to learn, know what they are passionate about, are resourceful and creative, and can work with minimal supervision. They are nature’s problem solvers!
That magical “diploma”… that oh-so-critical piece of paper that declares a kid is worth something, is a societal crock of massive proportions. So many great contributors in society had no formal training in their field of choice… sometimes in any field. What they had was a thirst for knowledge about a particular thing, so much so that they became the very best at that thing. Even if they have to go to a specialized school to learn the finer details of their craft, they won’t mind that work one bit… it’s what they love.
I guess I just feel education should be focused on the areas that interest the kids, rather than the random, abstract curricula some committee votes on. Nobody is interested in that stuff… not the teachers, nor the students.
Anyway, that’s awesome news about your kids! Good for you (and them)!!!
Oh and I didn’t add that I unschooled my children which even most homeschoolers find difficult to swallow. That took a lot of faith, but my motivation was always what was best for my children. I rejected most typical “what’s good for them” theories and followed my instinct. If anything appeared to have some educational value, I allowed it, particularly “playdates”. I encouraged friends over any time of the day.
All 3 of my children learned how to read/write/figure on their own time doing what held their interest. My oldest loved to game so he played lots of Monopoly (even printed more money into the 10s of thousands)w/ a friend of his. He advanced into gaming online and is now doing the work of a computer engineer and fixes xboxes(w/ the red ring of death)on the side.
My 14 yo daughter loved doodling and eventually began her own monthly which she has sent to her friends faithfully for the last 3 years. All of them can’t wait to get it in their mailbox. She also has her own self help website and blog. Her grammar isn’t the greatest, but she uses Ms Word to correct it.
My 8 yo hasn’t shown a distinct interest except for fishing. Perhaps he’ll become a Maine Guide? Whatever he does end up doing for a living, I know that he’ll be fulfilled.
Thanks for adding this, because it warms my heart. I am a firm believer that simply replicating what schools do at home is a waste of everyone’s time. Kids learn best on their own. All I have to do is pay attention to the things that interest Hunter and then help him find resources along those lines. He sets a direction, and I provide opportunities for him to explore.
The hardest part of all of this, for me, is trying to “prove” at the end of the year that he has learned what the DOE considers important… because I don’t. Like you, I follow my instinct and, so far, it has never failed us.
Hey Lisis,
I’m 20 so I haven’t been too long out of the education system.
When I was at school I always questioned why I had to learn things that I A: didn’t find interesting and B: would never ever get to use productively in my life.
We are such a diverse range of personalities. We all enjoy different things. If we could inform teachers of the subjects that we didn’t like in our early teens, and then just study a smaller range of liked subjects, then we’d get a selection of students coming out of education as specialists in all the different subjects. This would be far better than the half-learning you talked about.
Education could be a chance for us to embrace our differences. We could use our varying likes and dislikes to our own advantage, meanwhile feeding the desires of who we really are.
To make kids learn such a diversified range of subjects is lunacy, when we could so easily work as a massive team to have specialists in everything.
Thanks for posting this, glad it isn’t only me that thinks the education system needs a revamp!
Much Love
Sam
Hey, Sam! Thanks so much for joining this conversation. I was hoping it wouldn’t end up being just us homeschooling moms talking about this… dads should be involved, and “younglings” who are currently IN the system (or recently left it), and even those who don’t have kids, but realize our future is in their hands and we should do our best to prepare them for it.
I have heard of schools (very few, and some not in the U.S.) where it is known that by the end of elementary school, you can pretty much tell what a kid is into… arts, drama, athletics, academics, building and design, community activism, nature, fashion, etc. These places spend those first few years of school teaching the fundamentals of communication (3R’s), and exposing the kids to all sorts of opportunities so they can naturally drift towards what interests them.
From around 7th grade, they start to focus more heavily on their area of interest and any classes that may supplement that education. If you are interested in drama, you’d study primarily acting, dance, singing, music, literature, public speaking, this sort of thing. You may still have to do some of the other classes, but not super advanced levels of math, physics, and other things that won’t add much value. In essence, they are creating specialists.
Conceivably some of these kids will change their minds later, and may want to become engineers, or something. But at that point, armed with internal motivation, they can start the process of learning whatever it takes to reach their goal, and it will be a pleasure because no one else is making them do it. It’s amazing what we can accomplish when our goals are freely chosen!
Lisis, this subject really strikes a cord with me. Kids spend 12 years or more of their lives being taught mostly garbage. This is a pet peeve of mine. They waste much of the educational opportunity teaching worthless nonsense that has no practical benefits. Then they ignore the practical life skills that people really need.
What difference does it make if you can name the 13th president of the United States but don’t have a clue how to make an intelligent decision. Makes me nuts!!!
.-= Jonathan – Advanced Life Skills´s last blog ..Aging, Can You Control It? =-.
Thanks, Jonathan! That’s exactly how I feel about it… like it is a tremendous waste of everyone’s time and resources that could be spent doing all sorts of worthwhile and enjoyable activities instead.
When kids finally get to leave school they are grossly unprepared for real life and the stuff that really matters. And yet, it would be relatively simple to teach (explore) the few important things, if they could just let go of the need to pump kids full of useless drivel. It’s a waste of time and, therefore, a waste of life (and such vital, energetic, optimistic years we are wasting!!!) I would love to have those years back now!
Hi Lisis,
I enjoyed another great post here, thank you!
And, can I just say, I LOVE Sting and his lyrics. I’m glad you mentioned that line — it is one of my favorites.
My husband’s three daughters were home schooled (off and on) and they all say they enjoyed both — they liked being home, but also liked going to school, mostly to see their friends everyday, though.
I like what you’re saying here and support whatever helps to nurture creativity and compassion for others, while also equipping our nation to vote — having sufficient knowledge about the issues that are making a huge impact for this society (science, renewable resources, our health, sustainability, etc.).
This is a complex issue — have you thought about becoming more involved in politics or running for office? You have my vote.
.-= Lori ´s last blog ..Righting Time =-.
Hey, Lori! Certainly most kids enjoy the social aspect of school (as long as they are not being bullied or abused). I ask Hunter all the time if he’d like to go to school to play with other kids. He tells me it is not a real efficient use of his day to spend 7 hours at school, sitting in class, just for the few moments he’ll have to hang out with friends (recess, lunch, between classes).
I think schools should be more like after-school programs, where kids get to hang out (’cause their parents need to work) but no one is forcing anything on them. There are all sorts of activities available for kids to entertain themselves according to their interests. If those activities included a bit of everything… math clubs, science clubs, dance clubs, art and design, etc., kids would gravitate towards anything that lets them use their natural gifts. They would become experts in no time. They’d never want to LEAVE “school”, and they’d be prepared for a career in their chosen field.
I say, keep the social interaction benefits, but dump the administrative, bureaucratic junk. Kids learn more when you LET them, rather than MAKE them. In fact, they almost always resist anything we tell them they HAVE to do. We need reverse psychology here… tell them to hang out and have fun, but provide lots of fascinating stuff to engage them, then get the heck out of the way and let nature do its thing.
Can you imagine a school full of Richard Feynman type professors?! Enthusiasm, energy, passion… this kind of stuff broadens minds. Routine, rules, and boredom will shut a brain down in a skinny minute.
I just may run for something one day… I’ll research my options a bit in the mean time.
Hi Lisis,
I think about this all the time. What will education be like when I have kids? I want my children to learn all they can, to be creative, and to help them be the best they can at what they *love*, but like you say, schools don’t exactly help kids do that. We have a bunch of books with a bunch of information but when it comes to real life, we know practically nothing.
“I learned how to win at any game in which the rules are clearly stated, and every player is bound by them. Life is not this kind of game.” I am just like that, I learned to follow rules, but as it turns out, you have to make your own rules most of the time, or break the ones already there.
There’s so much to say about this, it’s overwhelming, so I’ll just stop and say I agree with you. We have to do something.
Hey, Rosie! You’re exactly right about that… it seems, in life, we do have to break some rules and make our own sometimes, if we’re ever going to create a life we are happy with. Kinda sad that we spend 20 years learning how to ask permission and follow directions, only to then find out we need to come up with our own ideas, set our own course, and blaze our own trail. No one else can tell us how to do it.
We’ve come so far in so many ways. And now, with the Internet, information is easy to come by, and anyone can learn anything they want to learn. Teachers should be facilitators, helping kids discover their own unique gifts and interests, so they can get started early enjoying life, instead of just trying to get through it.
Thanks for being here, Sweets! It’s always great to see you.
Hi Lisis – It’s such a huge subject. Chalk education up as another thing we’re failing at in this country. It’s getting to be a pretty long list, isn’t it? I think I was lucky to go to school in California before things got so bad. I studied languages, literature, history, sciences, drama, dance, and art. I went on the most amazing field trips to San Francisco. My high school was progressive with a modular scheduling system and we had a lot of freedom to create our day the way we wanted it to go. So I know it’s possible to educate children in a creative and collaborative way, but I imagine that costs a lot of money these days. And there are just so many kids in schools right now. But if you could figure out a way to do it, you’d have my vote. I’d even (gasp) be willing to pay higher taxes to educate our children in a manner that befits them. And I don’t even have kids!
.-= Patty – Why Not Start Now?´s last blog ..Meaning Mondays: A Gathering of Men Edition =-.
That’s awesome, Patty. There are definitely a few schools out there that are trying to do right by their students (instead of just trying to score more Federal funding), and there have certainly always been individual teachers that make a huge difference… even in the worst schools.
I’d like to see these become the norm, rather than the exception. Right now many schools go out of their way to “provide for” their best students… those who are motivated enough, and have enough support at home to do well in any circumstance. But what about the remaining 80%? And the “bottom” 30% gets neglected altogether, when they are the ones who need the benefits of schools the most. It strikes me as tremendously unfair.
Maybe it’s just the Libra in me that can’t quite swallow this sort of injustice.
Hey Lisis, I’ve been giving this some thought. My daughter is 4 and will be starting Pre-K this fall. The only real reason she’ll be there is for social interaction. She already knows everything she’s supposed to learn there. We let her learn when she feels like doing it, and we make learning opportunities of many activities throughout the days. She’ll sit down on her own to practice writing her letters because it’s also play for her; she gets to use markers or crayons and she has a blast doing it. The only thing she really needs is some time away from mom and dad, and out among other kids where she has some freedom to learn interaction with others.
I’m not sure where we’ll go from there. I hated school when I was a kid. The only day I liked was once a week when I had a gifted class all day instead of my normal class. In gifted we had assignments, but we were free to explore and learn on our own to complete those assignments. We worked on projects and read books. It was really fun.
One thing about school is it seems to be designed for the least common denominator. That being kids that don’t care about learning and don’t have parents that support them. Anyone that wants to learn is stuck with those that don’t. Those that want to learn tend to progress much faster but are held back and filled with boredom instead of more advanced learning.
Thanks for this post. I like to read your posts about school and education, and I also really like reading all the wonderful comments.
.-= Eric | Eden Journal´s last blog ..A Comfortable Content Sadness =-.
Hey, Eric! Great points, all of them. I definitely think that, as long as the school is working for your daughter, there’s no harm in having her there. If it gets to the point where she is being made to feel inferior, or less than (by peers or teachers), because she isn’t meeting some arbitrary marker, I’d take her out.
I was reading about a group of homeschooled kids recently, many of whom did not learn to read until they were 10 or 11. Since they were at home, they could learn at their own pace… whereas in school they would have been considered “slow learners” and labeled with some sort of learning disability because someone decided every kid should read by age (whatever the age is). But these kids went on to do extremely well academically, and in life, and they all became avid readers. In other words, there was no harm done by waiting until they were ready.
I know schools can provide some neat benefits to kids and parents. I just worry about the harmful side-effects that often come with those perks. But I know you and your wife are very involved parents, and will be able to read her signals if anything ever goes awry. Just know that you have options.
On one hand, I agree. We make kids go to school and memorize a lot of useless crap and conform. Just so that they can become good little worker-bees, and spend the rest of their lives in cubicle farms trying to make their boss happy. This doesn’t leave much room for flexibility and creativity.
On the other hand…taking the totally opposite approach is also harmful, when you let kids do whatever they want…when they want. How are they going to be able to deal with Real Life, if they never had to learn discipline and accountability?
I’m not just being facetious. I’m very close to some granola parents who home-schooled. They took an extremely liberal approach, and the Mom had no clue how to teach. They’re paying for it now…there are big problems with the kids. They’re not socialized and can’t function, and the whole family is in counseling.
I’m not saying this happens all the time..but there is a need for SOME discipline and structure.
The happy medium is somewhere between the present school system, and home-schooling free-range hippie children who live in a commune.
But, Friar, I have to wonder if those kids would have been equally screwed up in the school system? Like maybe there is something “not quite there” about the parents to begin with, so they aren’t able to provide or supplement an education in a healthy way.
For sure there are cases, both in homeschool and regular school, where the family support is either lacking, or completely dysfunctional. This sort of screwy mentality would be difficult for any system to sort out.
I think if you look into the stats, though, you will find that most homeschoolers do extremely well, both academically and socially. As I mentioned above, many universities and places of employment actively recruit homeschoolers because they are so well-adjusted and capable.
There is always a need for some discipline, structure, guidance and limit-setting… that’s just parenting. But I do think there is a “sweet spot” of education that is somewhere between parents doing it all and schools shoving kids through an antiquated system. I just haven’t found a place like that.
Hi Lisis,
I just want to echo the comments already made about this article – I think you’ve hit the nail on the head pretty much. Especially with this – “Instead, schools should focus on helping students LEARN, based on their interests, aptitudes, and internal motivations.”
That’s bang on the money. Let the kids pursue their interests from an early age so that they learn success is about embracing what you love, not about being force to learn something menial and irrelevant.
Cheers,
Rich
.-= Rich´s last blog ..Surrounding yourself with people who already have what you want =-.
Thanks, Rich! I’m glad you liked it. I definitely think it’s a shame when a kid knows early on what he loves, but is made to stop thinking about “that” and focus on school work (busywork) instead. Then, not surprisingly, it is difficult for these kids to concentrate on abstract, irrelevant things, so they don’t perform well… and are labeled, corrected, punished, made to feel “less than”. When really, had they been allowed to pursue what they love, they would have been star players.
There are all sorts of examples of famous, successful people (like Einstein) who did poorly in school because they were distracted by the thing they really loved. Everything else (all the hoops one has to jump through at school) seemed inconsequential to them… and they were right. Those people learned what THEY needed to do the work THEY considered valuable, refusing to be distracted by the other “junk”. This is how specialists blossom.
Whether unschool, homeschool, public school, or private school, if parents keep an eye towards their children’s needs and interests, things are likely to come out OK.
I was fortunate to attend very good public schools with programs that met my needs. I could’ve lived without some of the memorization, but most other aspects of my schooling were excellent.
The problem I have with the independent vs. institutional schooling debate is, WHO gets to decide how we educate our children? I’m not sure whether it should be the government or the parents — most likely some combination.
In situations where a state requires a minimum standard that must be adhered to and proven, how do they decide where to draw the line? Should it be “the 3 Rs” only, or include other subject areas? One of the keys to a successful system might be allowing more choice.
Hey, Ali… I know what you mean. I think part of the difficulty in solving this problem is that most of the people making the decisions about education don’t really SEE how broken the system is. (Kinda like Congress doesn’t think there’s a need to fix health care, since they have the greatest health care in the world.)
You and I went to good schools, and were on the “gifted” track, and had supportive families, and internal motivation, and all these things. We would do fine anywhere, as would the top 20% of students in this country. But what about the rest? The less fortunate ones… what do they get out of school? And why doesn’t anyone care?
And even in the BEST cases, like ours, going through the system, and succeeding in it, doesn’t really prepare us for the issues we face in real life. School prepares us for college and college prepares us to get a job. But how many of us on that “gifted” track have then been happy with those hard-earned jobs? We look around now, wanting something ELSE, and feel totally unprepared and unable to create what we want.
Had we created our own track to begin with, we wouldn’t be in this mess. We could also easily create a new one any time we wanted to. Even the best education, I think, points us in a misleading direction.
The real answer to “Who gets to decide how we educate our children?” is: the kids do. For the full explanation of that, you’ll have to read Teach Your Own, by John Holt.
Teaching practice in many countries continues to be straight out of the middle ages. I’ve taught in Europe, South East Asia and Africa. I think educational systems that have exam-based systems are particularly backward. I hope my kids get a love of learning, a place to experiment, be creative and make mistakes without being punished. It’s heartening that in some countries (New Zealand and Australia are doing a good job) learning is about having fun and adapting it to suit individual kids. Fast forward another couple of centuries and hopefully things will be looking up:)
I believe you are right, Annabel, that some countries (and even a few U.S. cities) are figuring out the pointlessness of the old system, and are coming up with new ways. Unfortunately, these instances are still by far outnumbered by schools that crank out obedient, unmotivated drones, so we still have a good bit of work to do.
But it is encouraging to see that, where non-traditional methods of education are being tried, we are finding extremely positive results. Eventually, I suppose, the balance will be tipped in favor of something new.
Hi, Lysis,
I really enjoy when you write passionately about a topic, as in this post…
Some problems that you highlight about the education system are valid in every country. Others are not.
I grew up in a latinoamerican country and memorizing things was the rule at school. Ten years ago I came to Canada with my wife and my daughter, who was three years old at that time.
I don’t see the education system as broken.
I have seen how the education here in Canada, provides tools that kids learn to use. They don’t have to memorize in some subjects, they are allowed to follow diferent paths to find a solution! I always have been besides my daughter supporting her in the process of learning and it has been a very pleasant experience. I know that many parents “delegate” (actually, abdicate) all the education process to the school and they complain about the results. My wife and I know that our daughter goes to the school to receive a facilitaion from a structured organization, but the real education is provided by us, our values and our example. I am very satisfied with the mix of schooling in Canada and the values that we teach our daughter at home. I admire you for dedicating most of your time to rise your children. Well done!
Boris
.-= Boris´s last blog ..Why smart celebrities seem to say “dumb things” =-.
Hey, Boris! For sure, in any country, no matter what the schooling situation, a child’s primary educators are always the parents and/ or guardians for the simple reason that kids learn by example. This is one detail many parents seem to have conveniently forgotten. Parental involvement is key for any method to succeed.
I’m thrilled to learn about Canada’s system, because it gives me hope that something better is possible here. We’re still behind you guys on health care, so I guess it figures we would be on education, as well. One day we’ll get our priorities straight, I hope!
I very much agree with your critique of schooling.
I do think people can be taught – it just requires an understanding of learning and to be in line with the person’s need(s). Children are taught to speak – thankfully in a human way not in a schooling way.
I think we need to answer the question of why adults hate children so much. I think it has to do with resentment and being scared of our anger.
An old book but a goody is Paul Goodman’s Compulsory Miseducation. If you haven’t read it I think you would enjoy it very much.
.-= Evan´s last blog ..Our forebears and heroes and what we owe them =-.
Hey, Evan! That sounds like a great book for me to read. I’ll add it to my Amazon wish list right away. Thanks!
I have to disagree that children are “taught” to speak, as I believe they learn it on their own, when they want to (same with reading). But I suppose that’s just semantics… whether they are taught or learn, it happens in a natural way.
The issue of most adults hating children is a biggie. I first came across this in John Holt’s books, and the idea baffled me. It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around it, but there IS something to it. I see adults all the time who would MUCH prefer to be away from their kids as much as possible. They have them, but then turn them over for someone else to raise them, teach them, play with them, handle their issues, etc. I’m sure this plays into the whole compulsory education thing in a big way. Kinda sad, really.
Dear Lisis,
Please receive my apologies for calling you “Lysis”.
There is a good friend who has a blog and she is called Lydia.
When I starterd to write any comment to her posts, I had to force myself to replace the “expected” letter “i” with a “y” until it finally became automatic.
What I hadn’t notices is that when that process became automatic, I misspelled your name replacing the first “i” with an “y”.
This is the explanation of the cause but it is not an excuse. I should have been more careful with the spelling of your name.
Sorry for this!
All the best,
Boris
.-= Boris´s last blog ..Why smart celebrities seem to say “dumb things” =-.
No worries, Boris! I’ll answer to just about anything. I’ve gotten used to my name being misspelled and mispronounced on a regular basis.
Thanks, though.
What if your name were Lysis, and mine were… Ana? ; )
Dear Alison,
I have thought on that already.. Then, in Spanish both of you would be Ana&Lisis and in English you would be Ana&Lysis…
Boris
.-= Boris´s last blog ..Why smart celebrities seem to say “dumb things” =-.
Lisis,
This post is pretty timely for me as the subject of indian kids who are doctors and engineers which are a byproduct of might not be reaching their full potential has been brewing in my head. In fact I’ve been raise in a culture that does create these “sheep” to a large extent.
I keep wondering what would happen if an Indian parent would nurture the artistic talents of their children. I played the Tuba for 15 years, and my parents always said “this is just a hobby.” But, what if they had said learn another instrument too. The school in Austin reminds of me what Google does with their 20% time. Imagine the kinds of minds we’d create if every school embraced that. Let people study what they’re interested in so they can reach their full potential.
Srini, you could’ve been surfing and playing the tuba all along, instead of wasting time on Plan A.
Seriously, though… what IF we valued creativity and passion and original thinking and these sorts of things, instead of the ability to memorize random facts and test well? Who would the star students be then? What kind of awesome things would they accomplish? Sounds like we could have a whole society of interesting, fulfilled, happy people. But I suppose those are harder to control and manipulate.
Identical drones make life much easier for those in charge, hence, they have a vested interest in keeping things as they are.
I know one thing: my kid is not here to make THEIR life easier.
Lisis, I’m sending you a link to a video I watched just yesterday at Janice Hunter’s site. It’s a funny and frightening TED talk.
http://sharingthejourney.co.uk/daily_moodlings/do-schools-kill-creativity/
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to write a post about schools and my experience as a teacher. It just won’t happen. I get maudlin and overwhelmed trying.
I was teaching in Texas schools when George Bush became governor and set up for the state what later became No Child Left Behind. Yeah, it sounds good, but everything changed after that. We suddenly had to spend all our time and resources teaching to the test. Those least likely to succeed got all the attention, and those at the top suffered the agony of waiting for everyone to catch up. Catching up never really happened. Gangsta rap had taken over by this time and schools were the enemy for those who felt disenfranchised.
Last week a Texas Board of Education dude who was voted from office but whose term had not yet expired managed to get seriously damaging changes made to state adopted civics and history textbooks.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/13/texas-textbook-massacre-u_n_498003.html I am so saddened by this.
Public education is our biggest, oldest, most bumbling bureaucracy. I don’t see any real solutions coming from government. At some point the private sector is going to have to solve this massive problem. I think we need exceptional educational software and satellite schools where students can come and go at their parents’ discretion, working online to meet ‘standards’ yet having plenty of time to pursue their passions elsewhere. A micromovement in this direction could lead to the change we so desperately need.
I commend you for doing what’s best for your son.
.-= Brenda (betaphi)´s last blog ..Says Marilyn =-.
Hey, Brenda!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing that TED link with me. It was so great, I immediately posted it to facebook. THAT is what I’m talking about. Our system is skewed in a problematic way, and where it’s headed worries me tremendously.
I particularly loved the part about the dancer… in today’s schools she would have been labeled ADHD and learning-disabled, medicated, and MADE to sit still. It saddens me to think of how many potentially amazing artists, athletes, etc we are squashing into submission every day, just to get those test scores up.
I believe you are right that the solution to this mess will have to come from the private sector. The government clearly doesn’t have a clue what to do about education. Fortunately, the internet makes it much easier to come up with alternative paths (if we can just get the government to back off and let us do our job!).
Thanks for joining this conversation.
Lisis:
Since we are still on topic, just thought of this addendum…
If you get the chance, please watch the movie, “Dead Poet’s Society.” I sincerely recommend it. This movie is germane to this post, to be sure, and Robbin Williams is brilliant. It is one of my favorites.
The movie is about school and cheerless conformity imposed on students by the establishment. And what happens when a charismatic teacher takes control and instructs students to tear out the pages of books, stop listening to the experts, and share your uniqueness with the world.
And the risks you take when you decide to strike out on your own in defiance of conventions. And the price you pay, but also the joy you discover: priceless, inner freedom or bliss.
If you’ve not done so already, go watch it now. You folks really do not know what you are missing, trust me, it was a revelation!
You know, I saw that when it first came out… and it was one of my all-time favorite movies. But I haven’t seen it since, and I think I’ll take your advice. I need to re-watch it now that I am in this position (evaluating my son’s educational needs and opportunities).
Two other movies I love are Good Will Hunting (the story of the wiz kid who got a free education at the public library), and Beautiful Mind (the story of John Nash, who said “Classes will dull your mind, destroy the potential for authentic creativity.”)
Cheerless conformity is not an option for me. Life is too precious and fragile to be wasted, or taken for granted.
Thanks for the reminder!
Lisis, I LOVED this article. Not only hasn’t it fundamentally changed, I think it has gotten much worse. Teaching to standardized tests has become much MORE common and teaching critical thinking skills has become LESS common. Schools have unquestionably been dumbed down.
There is indisputable evidence about the importance of free play in children learning and yet schools are cutting out recess and gym class in favor of more rote memorization. They are cutting out creative pursuits like arts in favor of more of the same.
Children are NATURALLY curious, independent, and creative. Our schools are beating that out of them and turning them into obedient little automatons. It’s sad. We should be outraged.
Information is growing exponentially and what children learn one year is out of date soon thereafter. We should be teaching children how to think, how to learn, and how to be ADAPTABLE. Instead we are teaching them how to follow directions and if they are curious or challenge we punish them for being “difficult”.
Bravo for you taking a stand!!!
.-= Stephen – Rat Race Trap´s last blog ..The Sunk Cost Bias Mind Trap =-.
Thanks, Stephen! Speaking of dumbed down, a friend was just telling me that the school where her kids go (or maybe it was all of Texas?) has eliminated D’s from the grading system. So, you either get a C (70) and pass, or 69 or less and fail.
Now, failing grades make the teacher and the school look bad. If their students aren’t performing, No Child Left Behind and other stupid grading systems will punish the schools and/ or teachers. So….. naturally….. students RARELY fail.
This child in question has 70′s on ALL her tests in one particular class because she fails the original test, and is then given an open-book, extra-credit, make-up exam which, miraculously, gets her the last point she needs to “pass”.
And then we wonder how so many students graduate from high school reading at an elementary school level (or not at all). Kids, teachers and schools are all working the system to avoid the worst of all possible evils: Failure. As if we needed MORE fear of failure!
Stephen, it saddens me, in a really big way. It isn’t enough for me to know that Hunter will be spared from that craziness, because for each kid “spared”, thousands are stuck in that ever-deteriorating mess… wasting their precious childhoods. They might as well still be working in factories. (Show up, do your job, follow orders, don’t ask questions.) To me, honestly, it’s the definition of “involuntary servitude”. But what do I know?
Thanks for being here, Stephen. It’s always great to see you.
[...] Our school system is obsolete, because it focuses almost exclusively on what should be taught, and how to measure whether that was accomplished. But, as Oscar Wilde said, “Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” Instead, schools should focus on helping students LEARN, based on their interests, aptitudes, and internal motivations. [...]
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Thanks for this — this reminded me of how I’ll still sometimes revert back to my public-school conditioning. Even as an entrepreneur who basically sets his own direction in life now, I still find myself thinking sometimes “when is someone going to tell me whether I’m doing it right or not?”, as if I wanted someone to give me an A. Or perhaps this conditioning comes from relating with parents and not as much from school — it’s an interesting question.
Funny you should mention that, Chris, because SO many people seem to be wanting to create something unique and entrepreneurial and off the beaten path, but then go searching for HOW TO blogs and books and manuals for life. It’s so weird to want to have someone ELSE explain to us the tried and true, “safe” way to create our own destinies. We want freedom, but never really learned how to define or pursue our dreams (or how to deal with inevitable failures along the way).
I am fortunate that my two children are good learners based on the current school system. It is a disservice to others that learn differently. I think schools should help children discover their strengths and make them even stronger.
School is often made too difficult or boring even. Then what happens is that too many people step off the path of learning as soon as they can. Once they graduate, many never read another book or pursue any knowledge just for the fun of it.
I do think a benefit of school is that children learn to socialize and get along with others.
.-= Sherri Frost´s last blog ..Hypnosis Workshop – Immense Value =-.
This is quite possibly the most well thought out piece of writing I have read on the internet in a long time. I lived through what you are describing, and I am watching my kids go through the same exercise in futility. Every day I spend some time helping them un-learn what they have learned. Good job.
Hi Lisis!
We are thinking and living the same life, I think.
I grew up in public schools. They were supposed to be good, but I hated them. Passionately. I always felt lost in the system. Undiscovered.
I was like you, a bright kid. I scored in the 99th percentile on standardized tests. But, unlike you, I had a B- average. And nobody noticed.
This experience had a big impact on me.
My wife and I now have four children. All school age. We had them in a pretty good Montessori school for a long time. The younger ones usually had a positive experience, and we were happy.
I always judged the quality of the school by the looks on my kids’ faces as I picked them up in the afternoon. Big smiles meant things were good.
But all of that started to change as they went into the elementary level. The kids quickly lost interest in school as the traditional model started to be applied more and more.
This school felt they had to prepare kids for an inevitable transition into the public school system, and they spoke proudly about how well their kids typically made the transition.
Personally, I could care less about that. What I want is energetic, happy children. Not rich fodder for the public school “factory”.
As you may be aware, we have been transitioning our life from a traditional home life to a life of family travel and adventure, which I write about on The Passionate Warrior Blog. We really didn’t know what to do about education during our journey, so we ultimately did nothing and watch what happened.
As our first leg drew to a close, my oldest, who was then in the 5th grade, approached us with a proposition. He didn’t want to go back to school.
There was no particular issue, though the school was quite small and his friends kept leaving to go to public school. And he’s no rebel. But, after living the past four months, he just could not go back. He said that he had tasted freedom and he could never give it up.
We all talked a lot. My wife was very skeptical. I believed in homeschooling as a concept, though I had no idea how to make it work for us. I knew of unschooling, and I liked the way it would fit into our new lifestyle. But I had no idea if it would work for us. For all of us.
When we looked at how we had recently been living our lives, we realized that we had already been unschooling for four months, without realizing it. And it was the best four months of our family’s existence.
The result of all of this is that today, we are unschoolers. My wife has now become a big fan of this approach, despite the sometime vehement concerns of her mom and aunt. My parents don’t get it either, so I just humor them about what we are doing.
My children are more alive and energetic than ever before (or at least since they were preschoolers).
One thing that really influenced our viewpoint was to attend a conference with other unschooling families. Seeing the product of this process had a big impact on both my wife and me.
The real fear that everyone seems to have is that, left to their own devices, kids will become useless blobs.
If you’ve ever seen the Australian movie, “Muriel’s Wedding,” then think about Muriel’s birth family. Basically human vegetables. That was the image that my wife had when my son first presented his ideas to begin with.
My mother-in-law says that her friend’s friend followed this path and her kids became “hooligans” (what, exactly, are hooligans supposed to be, anyway?).
The resistance to this kind of thinking about child rearing is ingrained in our culture. Some even seem to react violently to the idea. I’ve heard folks say that parents should be in prison for following such a path.
Just what we need, more inmates.
The bottom line is, there are many things lined up to prevent parents from following this path for their family. The system is geared to stop you.
So, visiting a conference full of former unschoolers with PhDs and meeting successful unschooled entrepreneurs is a powerful experience. Seeing the results of this approach in the form of intelligent and energized teens and young adults cut through all of the bu**sh*t and told us what we needed to know.
If my kids grow up like those kids, we will have done alright indeed.
Now my kids want to travel to unschooling conferences all over North America. We have already plotted out our course for 2010. I’m not sure about the conference in Vancouver, Washington in May, since I’d be driving there directly from Virginia and then deadheading back to Ontario and New England after that. :-\
This is a very big change for my family. Everything that you have written I have believed my entire adult life.
I also believe in the axiom, “think globally, act locally”. Lisis, trying to change the world is often a waste of great energy. Occasionally, great and visionary leaders do change the rules and fix the system. But I believe that the new world that is emerging before our eyes is organically modeled, rather than intelligently engineered.
Perhaps, instead of trying to fix the broken machine, we should just leave it to rust in the field while we simply vote with our feet. We will create a new “system” on our own, as the result of each of our individual family actions, taken in the best interests of our own children.
What we are doing here, talking, debating, and educating each other, is the 21st century way to build a new system. It is growing on its own. Organically.
This is it. We are doing it right here, right now.
Congratulations to all of us!
Lisis, I agree with the previous commenter. Your posts are very well thought out and extremely valuable. In fact, they are fantastic.
Thank you.
All the best,
Hugh
.-= Hugh DeBurgh – The Passionate Warrior´s last blog ..Take A Creative Family Lifestyle Test Drive =-.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Hi Lisis!
I love your post! So timely! I have a 4 year old that is ready for more, loves to learn and curious about everything; however, homeschooling is out of the question for us. Montessori seems to be an option for him. Just wondering if you have looked into the educational philosophy and what your thoughts are on it.
Thank you for this post and your blog in general! I love what you have to say and your outlook! Please keep it coming!
John
Right on. Our education philosophy is a trainwreck, and few people talk about it. Imagine the sweeping changes we’ll see in the next generation if we developed intelligent ways to educate our population. Great article.
I really appreciate this post , I am working on putting some similar things together. I am so glad I found this.. Thank you.. We just have to speak up, the next generation is counting on us..Thanks for sharing
Great read. I am particularly intrigued by your friend’s contact in Austin. I wonder what they teach during those morning hours. Three R’s perhaps? Does it prepare kids for the SAT’s? Does it matter?
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