(Untitled)

[kimlovesdanish]

I can't sleep

Comments

[prettyfrocks]

i agree with kenj on that last bit- we need to learn to deal with stupid systems and its a sad fact that we have to also learn to do things we just don't like doing. i hated high school, and found most of it pretty useless, but i think that many kids just would not be able to handle taking their education into their own hands. Some are just too immature (not in a derogatory sense, but just that some kids are more mature at 14 than others are at 18) to handle a structureless or self-structured environment. I look at my brothers and some people i have had classes with and probably even myself, and unschooling or selfschooling just would not have worked. I find that the university system is pretty well laid out- lecture-style in the younger years seminars in the upper years with discussion groups throughout. I would love to ditch some of the compulsory courses, and i would if they were not mandatory, but they are things i need to have taken in order for my degree to mean anything. I dunno about high school, i think of it as 4 years of

[kimlovesdanish]

And see I disagree - there are countless examples of kids taking their education into their own hands and, as a result, becoming more responsible and mature. The school systems make kids lazy and passive by spoon-feeding them information and make most kids expect that in order to learn something, they need a teacher to essentially shove it in their face. This essentially breeds the immaturity and laziness we see in most schooled kids. The reason why we think (and so many kids think) kids can't deal with a structureless environment is because they have been institutionalized. But if they are given freedom to investigate the topics that interest them, and given the space and time to develop interests in an unpressured environment, they will WANT to learn. Furthurmore they will gain a greater sense of responsibility and self worth for having created it on their own. I equate it with the sense of self worth I got when I was able to organize and achieve my trip to Ireland all by myself

[kelrond]

*Cough*, hi, devil's advocate here, just thought I'd interject

[kelrond]

So a list of things you need to look up

[kimlovesdanish]

And I will look up these things, thanks. :)

[kimlovesdanish]

Firstly, my issue isn't with university or college, (these are optional forms of schooling) but with high school. Which I have a full experience of, thank you very much. I am a little shocked that you would infer that, simply because I have not yet gone to university, my opinion is somehow less valid, or holds less weight? Going to University or post secondary school isn't the only way to get an education, my dear. It is a perfectly legitimate and valid one, but it isn't The Only Way

[kimlovesdanish]

My book is from the states, and I didn't know that our educational system is different than the states, I will look into that for sure. That being said, the problem with compulsory schooling, in my view, is that it IS compulsory and kids are forced to learn things they would rather not be learning. Coupled with the fact that it is often in a boring, classroom environment and in a social environment that ostracizes those who actually like being there, (kids call each other geeks and nerds) it conditions kids to not only hate the classroom setting but to hate the style of learning that goes with it. I see it in my brother... in kindergarten and grade 1 he loved school, but after hearing my sister and I complain about homework and seeing the other kids start to complain about schoolwork too, he started to adapt that mentality. His love for learning was, at school, at least, crushed. I mean sure he reads at home and there is still a flicker of that burning curiosity we all feel as kids, but this willingness to learn has suddenly been

[kelrond]

didn't imply that at all, do you really think I would tell my best friend that your opinion isn't valid? please calm down. I said that since high school is the last level you've completed, your opinion of it might change when you do a higher level of formal education. Formal education means being in the system, elementary, high school, or post secondary. Technically your schooling in denmark wasn't formal, based on what we are talking about. Your experience there changed your opinion about high school. Chances are your level of formal schooling will too.

Also don't be so hard on yourself. It's not like you could have moved to the states or europe as a little kid to educate yourself. Realistically your parents probably wouldn't have had the time or resources for an alternate form of schooling, just like the majority of canadian parents. So don't feel too jipped. And whether or not you think so, I liked who you were in high school and alot of other people i know did too. So we can thank it for that. I still like you now of course (lol)

[kimlovesdanish]

I think you misunderstand me. My issue isn't WITH formal education, it is with compulsory education, as outlined above. Being in Ry didn't change my opinion on high school, per se, it just confirmed some ideas I had made IN high school about their grading system. I realized the ideas I had could work and that they were actually in action somewhere. I realized other people thought the same about education

[kelrond]

no but ill definately look him up!

"And like I have mentioned before, unschooling doesn't require a lot of time from the parents, it is directed by the child, the parents are simply there to answer questions. Kids learn how to research and find the answers themselves, or if they can't, find the right people to answer their questions."

thats definately valid but kind of unrealistic. it certainly wouldnt work for everybody but it probably would have with a kid like you.

man I should tell you about this girl I know at school, her boyfriend was in the circus all his life and so he had schooling very much as you describe! he had quite the interesting life... they were pretty rich, so if he wanted to learn about a place, they could just go there and see. He wants to be a teacher now so he can share all of the things hes learned with little kiddies. cute eh? his gf told me that he actually finds it pretty hard to be in a classroom and dont schoolwork on a schedule though, cause hes so not used to that kind of learning.

[kimlovesdanish]

See I believe it isn't nearly as unrealistic as we think! Kids are lazy and immature because we tell them "You are a kid, therefore you are lazy and immature and you must listen to us knowledgeable adults". But the book I am reading provides COUNTLESS examples of kids from 12 to 17 who have done remarkably mature things. They can't ALL be anomalies. One kid in the 60's set out when he was 16 to sail around the world alone. We sailed for 5 years and returned with a wife and a child on the way. Another girl sailed around the world when she was 16 or 17 with absolutely no previous knowledge of sailing, she just got on a boat and learned along the way. Also alone. Her book is called 'Maiden Voyage'. Another 16 year old planned and completed a solo bike tour through South America. Okay all my examples include travel and that is because those are the ones that stick out in my mind.

Also your circus friend sounds fascinating!!