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This attitude will go a long way toward healing our schools' deficiencies. My own school experience (in the USA) was pretty painful at times. Since graduation I

This attitude will go a long way toward healing our schools' deficiencies. My own school experience (in the USA) was pretty painful at times. Since graduation I've realized that I actually love learning - it's probably my greatest drive. School never failed me academically, but I picked up some unhealthy attitudes about trying and learning and succeeding which I've been trying to unlearn since. Lessons like: 1. It is NOT ok to fail. 2. Pointless exercises ARE ok - live with it. 3. Don't ask why; just memorize the facts you'll be tested on. 4. Your uniqueness is a liability not an asset. I need to add that I did have lots of fantastic teachers, many of whom expressed the grace the OAP articulated. I also realize that many young people have a fantastic experience in the current system.

barry-cotter 14y ago
Insufficient cynicism detected. Those lessons are more the point of school than the promotion of human flourishing that philosophers, sociologists or economists talk about when discussing what it's all for or The Good Life. All of those lessons are very useful ones nfor the majority, the overwhelming majority of people to have learned if you want industrial civilisation to keep going. You might be able to remove industrial from that last sentence. The two best links, on the functions of school you'd guess from looking at how it works rather than how it's talked about, and on the real lessons school teaches, are directly below. http://www.overcomingbias.com/2010/08/functions-of-school.html http://www.overcomingbias.com/2010/08/functions-of-school.ht... READ THIS IF NOTHING ELSE http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html School is not about learning what they purport to teach, it is certainly not optimised for learning. http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/07/sleepy-kids-learn-less.html http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/07/sleepy-kids-learn-less... http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/06/only-do-math-homework.html http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/06/only-do-math-homework.... School is great at socialising people to accept ranking, judgement and being told what to do. http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/08/teachers-as-dictators.html http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/08/teachers-as-dictators.... There are no large school systems, anywhere, that are not lineal descendants, ideologically or organisationally of ones designed for turning out soldiers. http://www.overcomingbias.com/2012/05/schools-are-for-war.html http://www.overcomingbias.com/2012/05/schools-are-for-war.ht...

barry-cotter 14y ago

Insufficient cynicism detected. Those lessons are more the point of school than the promotion of human flourishing that philosophers, sociologists or economists talk about when discussing what it's all for or The Good Life. All of those lessons are very useful ones nfor the majority, the overwhelming majority of people to have learned if you want industrial civilisation to keep going. You might be able to remove industrial from that last sentence. The two best links, on the functions of school you'd guess from looking at how it works rather than how it's talked about, and on the real lessons school teaches, are directly below. http://www.overcomingbias.com/2010/08/functions-of-school.html http://www.overcomingbias.com/2010/08/functions-of-school.ht... READ THIS IF NOTHING ELSE http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html School is not about learning what they purport to teach, it is certainly not optimised for learning. http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/07/sleepy-kids-learn-less.html http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/07/sleepy-kids-learn-less... http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/06/only-do-math-homework.html http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/06/only-do-math-homework.... School is great at socialising people to accept ranking, judgement and being told what to do. http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/08/teachers-as-dictators.html http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/08/teachers-as-dictators.... There are no large school systems, anywhere, that are not lineal descendants, ideologically or organisationally of ones designed for turning out soldiers. http://www.overcomingbias.com/2012/05/schools-are-for-war.html http://www.overcomingbias.com/2012/05/schools-are-for-war.ht...