Sunday, June 1, 2014

Little Red Schoolhouse part 3

As children grow into young adults, we are confronted with a strange dichotomy...on the one hand, they are better suited to the"standard" style of education (sitting passively for long periods and listening) but they are also becoming more rebellious to authority.  They are more willing and able to listen, and are more likely to challenge.

They are seeking to discover and create their place in the world, their sense of identity,personality and individuality.  They simultaneously try to belong to, and rebellious from society as a whole...

This should not only be respected, but ENCOURAGED...U.Utah Phillips said it best to 2500 students..."you are,yet again,about to be called 'America's most valuable natural resource'...have you seen what we do to our 'valuable natural resources???'
Natural Resources (listen, it's short and worth it)

We NEED the next generation to challenge us... not only the orthodoxy, but US individually.  If I/we can't defend a belief to a 16yr old, perhaps it should be changed...and we should take this time, when we might still influence them , to allow, and welcome their challenges..

Ok,this post will be a 2parter, at least...too many thoughts...


So, in the upper grades, I suggest a class...over an hour in length, graded on a pass/fail level, based SOLELY on participation... I'd like to see small classes (20-25students) mixed ages... perhaps not even graded...(Ok, I admit, I'm stealing this completely from Heinleins "starship troopers"....but it's still a good idea...)... he called it "history and moral philosophy".... "current events and ethics" works just as well..."challenging ideas" is perhaps even a better name...

This would be an environment where students and adults could discuss anything and everything...personally, I would put it at a part of the day when parents, and other adults could come in and have their say, about local,statewide,national or international ideas and events...

Debate them...argue them...(perhaps the instructor could assign short papers that would serve as extra credit for other classes.... "In 3000 words minimum argue for religious expression in government" or "present the math favoring high inheritance taxes" or "present the ethical reasons for high marginal tax rates" or"defend removing Native Americans from their land")

And THAT is the point....to allow young minds to form and defend their own opinions....to allow the next generation a place and time to create their own thoughts,ideas,beliefs and rationales... to challenge them...to debate them.... and through the process of debate, to encourage the young adults to become part of society.....



Idea number 2 is an national exchange student program... The United States are a huge country, with hundreds,if not thousands of distinct cultures and stories...we are a miniature world, and our children can only be strengthened by being exposed to other subcultures, and we have hundreds of them...could you imagine how much stronger our nation would be if our children were exposed, bayou to mountain, NYC to Midwest farms, Seattle to Salt
Lake, desert to forest... exposing them to all the vibrant,wonderful,and lovely variations of humanity that are a part of American society...

It would help us understand, and respect each other, if we were exposed to each other... if we saw each other as human, and normal, before we paid attention to our differences....




More to come....




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