Talk to us

[Antigen]

On 2004-03-14 08:23:00, Antibody? wrote:

I ran into a little Identity Christian fellow at Sharie?s (like Shonie's down south).
...

Anyway, I told him I wanted to get more blacks, gays, hippies and liberals to move up here because I like diversity and "different" people to interact with -like him. He left.

Yup. Conservative Christians insist that they don't evolved. I believe them!

So, it doesn't matter what you are doing around here. Fishing, Hunting Shooting or Arguing with Richard Butler It's all good. And great fun.  

As long as you're having fun at it. That is the key to happiness. I'm convinced of it.

Education is that which remains, if one has forgotten everything he learned in school.
--Albert Einstein, Out of My Later Years, 1950

[Anonymous]

i am a survivor  send me an e mail at [email protected]

[Anonymous]

Why our current Educational Institution is detrimental to children:





Its structure, demands and curriculum are not child-centered or in line with developmental or learning needs

It regiments children's basic physiological needs and fails to allow children to respond to their own needs at times unprescribed by the teacher

The physical body is denied not only liquids, snacks and elimination, but exercise and rest (one or two "recesses" per day end around age 10)

Half of the states in the USA still permit teachers to assault children with paddles

It does not take into consideration that there are seven different learning styles

It provides no time for solitude, small child-led group meetings and independent study

It does not allow children to direct their own learning based on talents, interests and abilities

It fails to function as a democracy to prepare children to function in a democratic society

It is an institution based on control, order and punishment for non-compliance

Mistakes are not viewed as learning experiences, but as failures or infractions

Children?s effort and performance is graded according to the subjective opinions of a teacher

Grades are permanent, undisputable and are used to divide and "track" children according to performance

It labels children who cannot conform as "learning disabled" or "behavioral problems"

It isolates children from their families

It isolates children from the community

Children are forced to take busy work home after being confined for seven hours in school

Homework further isolates children from family time, play time, social time and time for pursuing one?s own interests

Children?s knowledge is assumed by using standardized tests designed to cater to those who excel at structured, pressured, recall of isolated facts, rather than dialoging or expressing knowledge in a variety of ways

It isolates children from taking part in contributing their ideas and talents to society

Learning is considered to be about "getting the right answer" rather than about the process of how to ask questions and where to find answers

Finding answers from peers or parents is called "cheating"

It is responsible for 1000?s of children being prescribed stimulant drugs for their exuberance, boredom or due to the teacher?s inability to provide a stimulating learning environment

It isolates children from interacting with people of various age groups

It creates a climate for children to isolate themselves into exclusive groups in order to establish a sense of power and territory in a hostage-like system (similar to prisons)

Its insensitive, control-based practices offer little opportunity for children?s voices to be expressed, leading to rage, rebellion and revenge

It is an outdated institution based on the work ethic of the early 1900?s

It has refused to modernize to meet the creative and intellectual needs and demands of a modern society



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The historical origins of forced mass schooling and our modern schools

John Taylor Gatto (1996), educator and strong supporter of home schooling, has written extensively about the origins of our current educational institution in America. Schooling did not exist as long as many people assume; In 1650 New England colonies, influenced by Plato?s Republic, attempted to create such a compulsory institution, to no avail. In the early 1800?s, a group of influential secret society ideologists were influenced by the Socialist Prussian system of forced mass-education. Prussians instituted a subordination system to mass-educate the population?s children with the goal of producing an obedient group of people to conform to the Prussian goals of like-minded thinking and servitude to the government, army and to the mines. Gatto writes that "the underlying premise of Prussian schooling is that the government is the true parent of children" (p.44). In 1852, this secret society, known as "The Order of the Star Spangled Banner", was successful in passing legislation for forced mass schooling in Massachusetts. Gatto writes that within the next 50 years, every state followed suit, "ending schools of choice and ceding the field to a new governmental monopoly" (p. 43).



Horace Mann, John Dewey and Kindergarten founder, Friedrich Froebel, were all vocal in supporting an institution that would control and gernericize education to prevent people from becoming from too knowledgeable and powerful. Gatto writes that in the early days of education reading was discouraged. Gatto adds that Dewey believed that with self-directed education, people become "dangerous because they become privately empowered, they know too much, and know how to find out what they don?t know by themselves without consulting experts" (p. 44).



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On what principles was traditional schooling founded?





Schooling was influenced by the idea that self-directed education created dangerous, free-thinking, over-educated people

Schooling was influenced by the idea that children are helpless, blank slates that would never learn on their own if left to self educate

Schooling was influenced by the idea that parents cannot provide an adequate education for their own children

Schooling was influenced by the idea that only "experts" can impart knowledge and adequate education

Schooling was influenced by a governmental idea that isolating children from their parents would limit free thinking, ensuring a more malleable and willing labor force

Schooling was influenced by the work ethic of the 1800?s which valued passive obedience to an authority

Schooling was based on preparing children for lives of servitude to hard labor in factories, mills and army

Schooling was influenced by the idea that education is what happens when an authority feeds facts to a passive recipient

School student management was influenced by harsh, punitive, religious views of children as bad and in need of "reform", regimentation and control

School student management was influenced by the scant knowledge of child development of the times

Student management was influenced by adults showing little regard for the physical and emotional needs of children



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Why traditional schooling is detrimental to society

School teachers love children who are quiet, obedient, passive recipients of the information that they present. Compliant children rarely argue or question the ideas of the teacher. On the contrary, spirited, exuberant children who buck the system are first punished into compliance, or next, are referred for testing to earn a label of "learning disabled", "special needs", or "behaviorally disordered". A remedy of stimulant medication to slow down or focus the bored, understimulated or energetic, passionate child often accompanies these testing results. Some of these children simply learn in a different manner than is being taught, or at a slower pace. Some are exceptionally bright, creative, gifted or talented. Many are abuse and neglect victims acting out their rage in school. Although obedient children are easy for parents and teachers to control and be around, these children often have difficulty with taking initiative, leadership, self-motivation, self-education, assertiveness, free-thinking, self-expression, trust in their own abilities and bringing innovative ideas to fruition. In our modern, technologically advanced society, the very qualities that are required for many of the successful careers of today are the very qualities that traditional schools subdue and squelch.



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Reference

Gatto, J.T. (1996) The Public School Nightmare: Why Fix A System Designed to Destroy Individual Thought? Chapter 7 in Deschooling Our Lives (Hern, M.): New Society Publishers.



 

 ::boycott::

[dishdutyfugitive]

I agree with many of your points.

On this note, I think apprenticeships are highly undervalued.

Just shooting from the hip but Public schooling should be 1/2 topics of the student'schoice and 1/2 apprenticeship opportunities.

I do have to say that a friend of mine teaches public school 6th grade. I'm very impressed with the improvements they made since I was in 6th grade.