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My kids go to what are considered “very good” schools. I have an 11 year old and a 13 year old and it seems to me school is a) about becoming a standardised so

My kids go to what are considered “very good” schools. I have an 11 year old and a 13 year old and it seems to me school is a) about becoming a standardised social human cog and b) the school passing off whatever is the current vague social fashion (resilience, leadership, whatever) as useful learning. Meanwhile the teachers spend a huge amount of effort to avoid teaching anything that might actually be useful. I don’t blame them - They suffered the same terrible education and are unqualified to teach anything except what they were taught so the cycle is self-reinforcing. Any actual learning seems incidental or is left the kids to find out for themselves through online programs (eg for maths/spelling) or personal research. I think school as we know it is becoming a dead end for genuinely useful learning, and for the masses it is essentially just something to keep young people busy so they don’t roam the streets and cause trouble. Sadly the first step in solving a problem is recognising it exists in the first place, but the question of why we continue with such a broken educational model doesn’t seem to trouble anyone - if the other parents are anything to go by anyway. They seem to lap up the schools’ endless marketing push designed to ensure nobody questions anything.

kenjackson 5y ago
You may want to find actually good schools. My son goes to a "very good" school and I'm always amazed at how much they fit in each day. Could he do more if he focused and studied by himself? Maybe. But I've also seen through home-schooling that left to his own devices he'll just write Roblox games (which are educational -- but they probably shouldn't be the only thing you do). Find a better school that will push your children. They do exist.
analog31 5y ago
My kids attended a "very good" school. It was a crap shoot. There was a large population of kids who were children of professors and doctors. Some kids did very well, others fell through the cracks. There's only so much you can control through selection of a school, and other factors, and then it's a crap shoot. Possibly the only predicting factor I was able to discern is that highly disciplined, self motivated parents tend to have highly disciplined, self motivated kids. People in professions that select for those traits will have "successful" kids. One thing I noticed is that I had vastly more spare time as a kid -- enough that I was able to play music while also teaching myself electronics and programming. On the other hand my school paid very little attention to writing, and I think my kids got a lot better preparation in both writing and critical thinking.

kenjackson 5y ago

You may want to find actually good schools. My son goes to a "very good" school and I'm always amazed at how much they fit in each day. Could he do more if he focused and studied by himself? Maybe. But I've also seen through home-schooling that left to his own devices he'll just write Roblox games (which are educational -- but they probably shouldn't be the only thing you do). Find a better school that will push your children. They do exist.

analog31 5y ago

My kids attended a "very good" school. It was a crap shoot. There was a large population of kids who were children of professors and doctors. Some kids did very well, others fell through the cracks. There's only so much you can control through selection of a school, and other factors, and then it's a crap shoot. Possibly the only predicting factor I was able to discern is that highly disciplined, self motivated parents tend to have highly disciplined, self motivated kids. People in professions that select for those traits will have "successful" kids. One thing I noticed is that I had vastly more spare time as a kid -- enough that I was able to play music while also teaching myself electronics and programming. On the other hand my school paid very little attention to writing, and I think my kids got a lot better preparation in both writing and critical thinking.