It occured to me recently that not only are we still relying on an outdated agrarian school calendar created in the 1940's, but the entire existing school system was originally designed to prepare children for a manufacturing job in the 1940's. That would have been an advancement from a potential life of drudgery as a farmhand to a manufacturing job with set hours and guaranteed pay. Everything we did in school from the 50's to the 90's prepared us for the next step - away from the farms. But few of us live on farms any longer. The school system is lagging behind and failing children by not finding their strengths and applying their education to the area of intelligence/interest/skill of each individual child. Sir Ken Robinson touches on it just briefly on today's Bonnie Hunt Show:
Sir Ken Robinson on The Bonnie Hunt Show
How do you feel about the education your child is getting today? Are you pleased with the offerings at your child's school? Do you know what the education they're getting today is preparing them for? Is it a manufacturing job? Is it college? Is it a trade? What additional skills are they learning to feed their creativity when art and music are being pulled from curriculums to save money? Does your child's teacher know your child at all? Are they trying to tailor their curriculum to each child in their classroom by focusing on each child's individual interests? If you went to your child's school superintendent, could you ask those questions and expect an answer in person or any answer at all?
Chrissi, Cyber School Mom
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1 comment:
Mine's not in school yet, but I think about it everyday. I think I lean towards Unschooling (see Dayna Martin, Sandra Dodd on Youtube) or an apprenticeship like what I think Sir Ken is talking about. Unfortunately my little guy has some special needs that need to be addressed before I feel comfortable with him staying home, and is wait-listed for preschool at the moment. One day at a time for us!
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