When you walk into the staff room at the end of the day, this is the kid staff are bitching about.
He gets tagged with labels: rude, disobedient, lazy, difficult, disruptive.
This kid goes on a work placement at a farm and also gets tagged with labels: hard working, reliable, strong, a good guy.
Yep, same guy.
Why are our schools like this?
Why do they work for some people, but destroy others?
Why do they force every student in the Western world to learn algebra, but not how to fix a dripping tap?
How to write an essay, but not how to tend a vegetable garden?
How to plagiarise Wikipedia, but not how to build a house?
It seems a side effect of a decade of school is either mindless obedience or a destroyed soul. Labels like rude, disobedient, lazy, difficult, disruptive: the constant reminder that you'll never amount to anything.
Knowing that the only thing you're good for is working at a call centre, as a cleaner, or some other unskilled, low paid, mind numbing job.
Surely there's a better way...
He gets tagged with labels: rude, disobedient, lazy, difficult, disruptive.
This kid goes on a work placement at a farm and also gets tagged with labels: hard working, reliable, strong, a good guy.
Yep, same guy.
Why are our schools like this?
Why do they work for some people, but destroy others?
Why do they force every student in the Western world to learn algebra, but not how to fix a dripping tap?
How to write an essay, but not how to tend a vegetable garden?
How to plagiarise Wikipedia, but not how to build a house?
It seems a side effect of a decade of school is either mindless obedience or a destroyed soul. Labels like rude, disobedient, lazy, difficult, disruptive: the constant reminder that you'll never amount to anything.
Knowing that the only thing you're good for is working at a call centre, as a cleaner, or some other unskilled, low paid, mind numbing job.
Surely there's a better way...
What are the first three things you'd change if we made you Education Minister, Valerie?
ReplyDeleteMy dad always told me a couple of years ago "..school just wasn't for you..." -to which I replied "Well why the fuck did I have to go through it for!!!" -he shrugged. -Don't get me wrong, my dad was a beautiful man. -just doing the same as everybody else.
ReplyDeleteBert:
ReplyDeleteFirstly it would be a really difficult job & I'm not trying to pretend, with my great lack of inside political knowledge, that I could change much.
But here's where I'd start:
1) No mandatory literacy & numeracy after grade 7 or 8 & more options subjects. Once kids know how to add & subtract & how to spell words to the point that Microsoft Word can fix any errors, they should be able to start fumbling around with what they're interested in. Advanced literacy & numeracy classes should still exist, but they should be optional, just like music, photography & art. More hands on subjects that teach creativity & real world skills. As well as learning these useful skills, students would actually have a decent chance at finding out what they're good at (plus it feels good to achieve something you couldn't a week ago).
2) I'd read every book by Ken Robinson & look very closely at everything the British government is doing in education (they've hired Robinson to revamp their system). If you haven't hear of Ken Robinson, look him up on Ted.com - he's amazing.
3) I'd encourage students to participate in one week of work placement every term, starting from either grade 7 or 8. This gives students a better chance of stumbling on what they would love to do. I definitely stumbled into my job, which just so happens to be perfect for me. I did one work placement in my years of schooling. If I had 16 work placements, that's gotta improve the odds that I'd find something I love.
Any ideas yourself?
And Fakie Wilde:
Sorry to hear school was not for you. Sadly there's many like you. And as for your dad, I agree: even for intelligent people who want the best for their kids, it's really hard to educate your kids other than through public education. The only real option is home schooling, but you have to have the confidence, ability, resources, and time to do it (which means you wouldn't be working, so how are you paying your $300,000 mortgage?). These are issues my wife & I are going through now...
I even think those that did okay in school are often negatively affected. I feel like I'm still learning to be assertive after years of being rewarded for doing what I was told.