This is thought-provoking post. The wide variety of pedagogical approaches to education is rich. We have yet to hit the sweet spot given the wide range of issues confronting each community at the individual and institutional level. Not to mention the fast changes in technology in general. The shift during the pandemic years was towards online environments, which in essence is a form of homeschooling. I wonder how successful or not that experiment was. New tech on the horizon will make use of 3D virtual and augmented reality, which do not require physical presence in a classroom. Would this help minimize the hierarchical organization humans are so fond of? Maybe not, but it might provide more choices on how to educate children in a positive enriching environment.
Your comment is upvoted by @topcomment
More info - Support @topcomment - Discord
Hi @litguru,
As much as I hated school, still I benefited from the mentoring of some worthy teachers. I think those teachers helped to make me the person I am. (Is that a good thing?😀). Also, as much as I didn't enjoy the confined space of school, there is benefit to being around other children/adolescents. We have to learn to socialize, to get along, to understand people. It's just, that can be done in a far less restrictive environment. It can be done with more regard to the individual (as Tagore proposed). I don't think AI is a substitute for human contact. And, I think COVID education was very hard on many students. Many suffered a sense of isolation. I know it was hard on my granddaughter. And for those students who come from less rich backgrounds, there is an absence of cultural exposure.
We need school, just not prisons.
I didn't mention AI, but it's a good point. AIs will be even more transforming than virtual/augmented reality. Maybe we need to go back to the basics
I agree about the basics, but I'm not sure I'd like any of them either. Primitive cultures can be quite restrictive in their child-rearing approach.
I really do like the Curie/Tagore examples. Let the child grow, according to that child's needs and interests. I don't know how practical that is. I think some children welcome regimentation (call it structured guidance). A lot of children don't. I think the plethora of movies generated that show discontent with high school is a testament to the schools' failure for some. I am among those. I'm lucky I survived and even have one or two good memories. But, overall, I could have learned so much more if I'd been motivated in the proper environment to cooperate, instead of rebel.
High school is partly difficult because of the changes happening to us as we grow up. I went to an Ontario high school, so the experience might have been completely different from your version of high school. Plus, you were a girl in an era when gender differences and expectations were culturally magnified, so it may not be completely comparable.
Being the clever sort, I had a lot of existential angst in high school and walked around with the weight of the world on my shoulders. This marked me as an outsider. All that angst changed in later years to cheerful engagement thanks to various experiences, including listening to a lot of Beatles music :D
💐
I am not surprised. Not everyone faces those issues so young, but you are a bit more thoughtful than most.
As schools go, mine was actually pretty tolerant. They let me get away with a lot. I was absent frequently and nobody called me out on it. As for the female thing. We were lucky. No males in the school, which meant we were free from superficial competition. Girls do much better, when they are growing, if there are no guys around.
The idea of leadership, for example, was emphasized, which it probably wouldn't have been if there had been guys. We were groomed to be as much as we could be. It was a blue collar school, so most kids didn't have resources for college. And several of the smart girls went on to become nurses, instead of doctors. I found that depressing.
I wouldn't have been happy in any high school. I wanted my freedom, which I got in college. I went to NYU, Greenwich Village during the 60s. Can't get much freer than that.
I'm glad you settled in a comfortable place, eventually. You are remarkably creative, so it is not surprising you felt like an outsider until you found that place.
😋