Schools
ABOUT A MONTH AGO I LINKED TO A LIST OF “10 Things I Wish I Had Never Believed” by Steve Olson. One of the entries concerned public education.
Though I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says in his recent “How the Public School System Crushes Souls“, I must say that I agree with a lot it.
Two things I’d like to point out, though, are that:
- His “What if your spirit won’t allow you to follow directions?” is not an acceptable excuse for not fitting into the educational system. If your spirit won’t allow you to follow directions, you won’t fit in anywhere in any role for anything. There are plenty of valid reasons to be unhappy with today’s educational systems. Your inability or unwillingness to follow directions is not one of them.
- I would bet that nearly all of the kids who succeed in public education have plenty of love and support from their parents, and “love and support” includes discipline and positive role-modeling. I would bet that most, if not nearly all, kids who don’t succeed in public education do not have plenty of love and support from their parents. Again, there are plenty of valid reasons to be unhappy with today’s educational systems. Poor parenting is not one of them.
Though there are no doubt many exceptions, I truly think that it is the education systems, not the educators themselves, that are the cause of most of the valid problems in today’s public education. I know a fair number of educators. I would gladly have them teach my kids. But I would be hesitant to put my kids in the system where that teaching would need to take place.
If you’re interested in education, go read “How the Public School System Crushes Souls“. There are some good comments in the comments section, too. From both sides of the argument.