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November 2009 
Did you enjoy school when you were young?
Posted on Jul 21st, 2007
by 
earthmama
earthmama
This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for July 20, 2007:
My relationship with school was a paradox. A love/hate relationship... I loved, loved, LOVED learning (still do), but was continually let down by the lack of depth in the curriculum and the innane systemic problems.
Why did we have to learn what we did? Why were we continually tested and judged? What gave some teachers the right to play favorites and arbitrarily "punish" those they didn't like? Why did our classrooms have no windows? Why should a single test determine whether you pass or fail something? What made the teachers and administrators think that all kids could and should learn the same things in the same ways? Are teachers ever accountable to their students?
In spite of having all these questions, which I freely voiced, (my dad was on the school board and, as a member of student council, I had the principal's ear..) I was not a "rebel" in the traditional sense.
Rather, I was the type of kid who was involved in everything (student council, drama, peer support, music etc..etc...) and still took on extra learning projects for "fun"!!! In the eyes of my teachers I was a star student -great marks and super-involved; however, I was continually stressed. Very stressed. I detested being judged. I wanted desperately to be perfect... People were counting on me to be "perfect".... This horrible, destructive perfectionism lasted from grade school through grad school.
Trying to meet everyone's expectations of "mental prowess" I was pulled further and further away from what I knew in my heart to be true -- that we are all of us perfect, divine beings. Beings with spirits and hearts as well as "minds".
In spite of actually having learned many interesting things in school, I have spent several years "recovering" from my experience....
I think that the "new paradigm" requires a wholey different approach to education. One that respects and nurtures the whole child. Mind, body and spirit. In my humble opinion, children need facilitators and guides rather than teachers. We are all natural learners! People will learn what is personally important, interesting and relevant if given the proper opportunities to do so.
In an effort to prepare our kids for the "new world", we have chosen the unschooling path. We are encouraging our kiddos to listen to their hearts and heed their own inner wisdom (with gentle guidance of course). They decide what types of things they are interested in and we just run with it!! So far they seem fairly smitten with this approach to the school of life.... :) I guess my experience was not all in vain, for it taught me much about what not to do!!!
Namaste,
Shannon :)
Why did we have to learn what we did? Why were we continually tested and judged? What gave some teachers the right to play favorites and arbitrarily "punish" those they didn't like? Why did our classrooms have no windows? Why should a single test determine whether you pass or fail something? What made the teachers and administrators think that all kids could and should learn the same things in the same ways? Are teachers ever accountable to their students?
In spite of having all these questions, which I freely voiced, (my dad was on the school board and, as a member of student council, I had the principal's ear..) I was not a "rebel" in the traditional sense.
Rather, I was the type of kid who was involved in everything (student council, drama, peer support, music etc..etc...) and still took on extra learning projects for "fun"!!! In the eyes of my teachers I was a star student -great marks and super-involved; however, I was continually stressed. Very stressed. I detested being judged. I wanted desperately to be perfect... People were counting on me to be "perfect".... This horrible, destructive perfectionism lasted from grade school through grad school.
Trying to meet everyone's expectations of "mental prowess" I was pulled further and further away from what I knew in my heart to be true -- that we are all of us perfect, divine beings. Beings with spirits and hearts as well as "minds".
In spite of actually having learned many interesting things in school, I have spent several years "recovering" from my experience....
I think that the "new paradigm" requires a wholey different approach to education. One that respects and nurtures the whole child. Mind, body and spirit. In my humble opinion, children need facilitators and guides rather than teachers. We are all natural learners! People will learn what is personally important, interesting and relevant if given the proper opportunities to do so.
In an effort to prepare our kids for the "new world", we have chosen the unschooling path. We are encouraging our kiddos to listen to their hearts and heed their own inner wisdom (with gentle guidance of course). They decide what types of things they are interested in and we just run with it!! So far they seem fairly smitten with this approach to the school of life.... :) I guess my experience was not all in vain, for it taught me much about what not to do!!!
Namaste,
Shannon :)
Access: Public
School is simply a stage where we act out the same play we were in before we entered kindergarten - the same one which continues after graduation. As someone who spent several years on both sides of the desk, I can say school is simply a microscosm. I burned out from teaching, because I put my heart and soul into it. I agree with you, the public system could do more to foster creativity and enthusiasm in our future generation. But, so could many parents. Unfortunately, our government is hard-pressed to finance the system as it is, let alone create a better one. In the meantime, some kids thrive, some teachers inspire, and others don't. Thanks for the thought-provoking post.
Thank you for stopping by, Otter!
Bless your heart for engaging in one of the most difficult jobs in world (along with being a parent!!). I am certain that you were one of the teachers who 'inspired” and helped your kids to thrive! I am so glad that you were able to escape the system intact…
Personally, I question whether or not our government is really hard pressed to finance the system…. I think that if less money was spent on lesser things - like paying Private Investigators to spy on farmers!!-, perhaps we might find that there is money available? Just a thought…..
Namaste,
S:)
The government tells us they are “hard-pressed.” They are not. That's just a cover for their philosphical preference for privatization. During “King Ralph's” reign, they sucked vast amounts of resources out of the system in the name of debt reduction. They were following Roger Douglas' model. Fortunately, they didn't expect how the Raging Grannies, the Friends of Medicare, parents and teachers would react. The system is still badly wounded from those slash-and-burn days. That was when I was in the system.
Ralph and his crew did everything possible to portray teachers as selfish, lazy and money-hungry. It was very demoralizing. I was spending 10 hours plus a day at my job, one day on the weekend, and I had small children. I am glad I am out of the system now. It does need an overhaul, but without the political, that won't happen.
I absolutely agree, Otter!
The one-party state of affairs, here in Alberta, has certainly done its part to try to erode both our social institutions and our sense of what democracy is. There is a culture of fear in this province that is much akin to what we're seeing in the US today. The myths that form the basis of our provincial identity – western alienation, NEP etc…– help to fuel the flames of distrust and disdain for those who aren't redneck oilmen! (I mean this in the most compassionate way! Gulp!).
The ragin' grannies and the friends of medicare give me hope…. Altruism and compassion are breathing under the surface….
Namaste.
S:)
Since we really only re-learn…why not unschool.
I homeschooled/unschooled my son..he is 22 and just graduated from college..most of the four years I did it, we traveled…it was THE best way to learn..by seeing and doing..
Bravo Shannon…Bravo!
Aley,
Thank you for your kind words and support. I am totally with you on the “re-learning”, remembering bit….
Wow, I didn't realize that you had shared this unschooling journey… Thank you for blazing trail…. It is an amazing path to follow, isn't it?
Namaste,
S:)
I am very intrigued by the unschooling concept, but I think I would be at a loss as to how to do it! Whereas I can recognize how lots of things taught in traditional school are sort of silly and meaningless, some are important and I don't know how to teach them!
The other day, Doodlebug said “how do you KNOW it's going to be hot outside today?” I said I read the weather report on the internet. She said, “but how does the internet know?” I said that a scientist knew how to find out and told the person who makes the weather website what to write. Then she said “But how does the scientist know?” and I had to admit that my knowledge ended there. The time and energy it would have taken to get her a good answer just isn't there with a baby in the house, too – I don't know how you do it with your whole brood!!! :) I ended up telling her to write that question down on our list of things to ask her teacher when we started school in the fall, or to ask our meteorologist cousin when we see him in September.
So really – how do you do it? How do you engage them in the moment of excitement while still attending to all the other kids' interests? I'm honestly curious!
Debi,
Wonderful question! Thank you for your genuine interest! :)
First off, Doodlebug sounds so much like my son Ben. He always seems to take his questions to the next level, and he is only 5!! Gulp!!
As to responding to the excitement of the moment, we (I) do our best. Sometimes the moment is just right and we can talk about a thought, question or idea together and reach a passable answer (to a 5 or 9 year old). Other times the baby is climbing the stairs and the phone is ringing and the cat has a hairball and…… well, the typical stuff, and we make a note. And we return to the subject a minute, day, week or month later. If it is truly perplexing it always seems to come up again. Still other times, mom just doesn't know and I admit it!!! So we google!!!! We do a lot of “googling” in our house. A lot!!!!
Part of the whole journey for me has been letting go of the notion that I am a teacher to my kids and therefore I must know all things. This has been hard at times, but liberating! I am just helping them to rediscover what they want and need to know.
I could go on and on, but I hope this helps!
Namaste,
S:)
unschooling, to me, means trusting in my children's ability to make their own decisions and choose what is right. What is right for them may not always be what is right for me, and I must respect that, too. For us, it's all about fostering autonomy, same as public education is all about minimizing autonomy. It's been an amazing journey so far, and it's only just begun!! My role is not to give them the answers, but to show them how to find their own answers.
here's a short little blog entry of mine concerning “no child left behind”
and here are some posts regarding what Plato had to say about the role of public education as to keep the people in line
Stacy,
I totally agree with you with regard to autonomy. More than anything, I think that children must learn to think for and learn themselves. Having laid witness to my kids and their vast capacity for learning over the past 9+ years, I feel confident in saying that kids know what they need to know. They just need loving guides to help them along the way….
Thanks so much for sharing the links to your blog posts. I read your comment and I started tingling with excitement! You know the Republic!!! I wrote my Honors thesis on Education in the Republic, “The beginning is the most important part of any work…” and would love to discuss with you! This is just so exciting for me! (Yes, I'm a geek!!GULP!) LOL :-)
Namaste,
S:)
it's funny, I never wrote any papers on The Republic when I was in college. I did, however, write a paper on Socrates' daimonion, any mention of which is so pointedly missing from The Republic. I think that's very important, because IMO, the way out of the control game played by those in charge is through listening to and believing in that inner voice that guides us all. ;-) My thesis was on William James, written in the form of a Socratic dialogue between a student (me) and James.