Our educational system flunks the test, yet some dedicated teachers prevail

Almost every child, on the first day he sets foot in a school building, is smarter, more curious, less afraid of what he doesn’t know, better at finding and figuring things out, more confident, resourceful, persistent, and independent than he will ever be again in his schooling—or, unless he is very unusual and very lucky, for the rest of his life.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.

I have been a student, a teacher, and a parent of a school-aged child. And out of my experience, I believe that public schools fail our children.

We originally designed our public schools to prepare students to graduate into factory work. We taught them to stand in line, sit still, memorize and regurgitate their lessons, and color within the lines. Now we’re teaching our kids to take standardized tests and to compete for the highest scores. Where is the room in this for our children to explore, to discover, to create? When students are uptight and afraid of failure, how can they discern who they really are and what kind of life they want to live? We may not be training our kids to take their place on the assembly line, but I believe we are constricting their natural authenticity and vitality and replacing these with our agreed-upon beliefs about who they should be and how they should live. (more…)

Saturday, August 19th, 2000