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The Gaffer's Philosophy:
Part 52: Child Welfare:
Electives:
May 26, 2003:
Continuing with the education plan:
As we said, the first two years are invested in communication
and investigation only. As we go along, reading and writing will
become part of this. For the kids to learn, they must learn to
do research. That means they must learn to read. That is when
we should teach it, when the kids see the need for it. Then they
will approach it eagerly. The same is true of writing. When the
kids see it as a better way to communicate what they know, we
will not be able to keep them from trying to learn it.
For the normal child, electives can be offered after the first two years. In that, each student sets his own path and each path will be unique to that student. It is incumbent upon the educational system to have in place the subject matter, materials, and the guides for that student. By guides, I mean educational experts in the particular discipline. The student must be able to find everything he needs to follow his path. This means we will have in place, math guides and math materials. We will have history guides and history materials. Ditto for geography, music, art, dance, and any others. Each child can take of those what they need to follow their own path.
One of the awful things we do to our kids is force them into a mold, assuming they are too stupid to make those life direction kind of choices. They are not stupid. We make them stupid by vigorously suppressing their natural curiosity, creativity, adventurousness, and sense of discovery. Of course, the children must learn to focus and we help them do that by limiting the number of electives they can carry at one time. We also maintain a formal environment at all times.
All of the electives are graduated into levels of mastery. For sure, we do not elect algebra before we have mastered basic math. However, these levels have nothing to do with age or grade level. They are determined by interest alone. We learn things when we are ready to learn them. We do not ask kids to learn things unless we can explain why they need to know them. The child must understand that the information is necessary to his path.
We need not worry about arithmetic. Later on, mathematics will come out of wanting to know about other things. They will pick up on math when the see that they need it to understand something else, like music, engines, or handling money. All of these things will fall out of natural curiosity if we encourage it. It can take us into history, geology, geography, the sciences, or heaven forbid, even psychology and philosophy.
As I indicated, our first task will be to help the children enhance and focus their communication skills and curiosity. We can help them notice that there are better methods of communication. We can introduce them to all of the tools of investigation. We can expose them to the many sources of information including computers and the internet. Although we act as the child's guide, she teaches herself at her own pace.
As one facet of self expression we will use music and art. There has to be music in our kids lives right from the get-go. Music and art are part of creative expression and part of communication. However, we cannot call what the kids express art. We must call it creative expression. I we call it art, that makes us arbiters of art. Whatever creativeness the kids express is appropriate. We must differentiate between this and any government support of art, which is patently wrong. Support of creative expression in children is essential to their intellectual, emotional and social development.
We must also allow our kids to make errors. This is where we often bungle. Instead of letting them absorb the experience, we too often interfere to save them. For sure we should intervene to protect a kid from real physical danger. However, there is no reason at all to protect a kid from embarrassing himself. If we do not interfere they will learn from their failures as well as their successes. If we allow them to communicate and investigate, errors and all, they will come upon everything else by discovery. Then they will learn it eagerly, because it is theirs. It is not something imposed from outside the individual.
To support learning from error we must be very quick and firm to interrupt any ridicule, contempt, or ego tripping at the other kid's expense. We cannot have anyone, especially a teacher, making themselves right by making someone else wrong. That cannot be allowed in the classroom. If a kid makes a mistake, experience will show it to him in time. Other than that, there are no wrong ideas or expressions of our own understanding of a thing. There are only different viewpoints.
About the materials for education, we need to create better books for the kids. Most current text books are absolutely mind numbing. They were created by bored boring people. We must move toward communicating the concepts on a more personal level. We must make the text books exciting and interesting. Especially for the earlier grades, the books should be in a style similar to the Dr. Seuss books for our very young students.
For all education, the accurate but poorly written classic texts must be translated. We must challenge our best writers to do this translation. These books may not earn as much cash as a horror romance story. In fact, they should not, but the translations are necessary. The notion that a person who got fat on our economic system should not have to give back is not acceptable. If they won't do it, they should be shamed into doing it. Although not specifically designed for school age students we can offer some examples of how textbooks could be written for older kids. These are, The Anatomy of a PC, Math for Moms and Pops, and The Novice PC User's Guide, all by William E. Steinman.
Creative expression is the basis of all we do in this system. Creative expression is not an elective. It is something that we must insist that our children do. It is not about allowing it, it is about creating the space and insisting on it. It begins with the first speaking exercises on the first day. Then these kids will not need therapy later in life. Their therapy will be ongoing.
A major path to self actualization is through creative behavior or expression. To do this, we cannot judge our creative effort. We must become completely open with it. We must allow it full expression in whatever form it takes. It is not a question of satisfying some arbitrary notions of art and beauty. It is not even a matter of satisfying some conventional notions of "good" behavior. It is a matter of expressing our whole self. No one has a right to judge that, not the critic, not the teacher, not Ma or Pa, nor even God.
We are not talking about science or mathematics. We are not
talking about any notion of logic at all. This is simply about
allowing the full expression of the young person's creative self.
We must allow them to be whatever they are, completely nonjudgmental.
When that process continues, I will assure you that the child
will continue to be naturally creative.
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