RE: #steemiteducation Children should be allowed to learn whatever they want instead of having set classroom subjects. Yay or Nay?
"Yay or Nay?"
The reasoning in formulation of this question presupposes that it cannot be both.
It is my contention that it needs to be both.
It is 'our work' to real-eyes the (middle) way forward for the future generations.
The 'middle' way is better explained as the way that is almost effortless- the way forward of greatest ease and peace.
I feel the world is at an important time where lessons of moderation in everything including thinking not only, over-acting- is ever increasingly, important. It is not our 'job' to work and to strive for this and for that and to compete or, to teach 'how to' compete.
We need a rEvolution in thinking.
What we all could use today is coursework on cooperation as well as moderation and these days as a species is also ironically a return to, "AND" questions.
How can children learn what 'they' want AND also learn the fundamentals of "education?" or 'how to' become a happy and productive, sustainable person, citizen, ... ? Maybe we need to reconsider what is really of import to 'teach' and begin there.
I recently (accepting who my Son is as a person) showed him a curricula list that I had created, for what I would like for him, in HIS studies. I asked him to rank the list so that we can prioritize accordingly. However I have no illusions that any of his success or failure from doing this will come as a result of what I've done or do not do. I am in full knowledge that responsibility and the outcomes of ones' lives are revealed throughout history to being dependent not on the parents or educators, but of the individual, when not repressed. Seems, this means there is great room for us to do a whole lot less in our children's lives, not more. So how do we teach responsibility through freedom. How do we teach freedom, through responsibility .. we don't really (teach) life does..
And we ask, how can we allow children to have and know freedom in childhood AND responsibility? One does not exist without the other so let kids be kids.. And trust in life.
Is there any impartial evidence anywhere that the current 'western' education system makes us any happier or smarter? sustainable! How is it making the world better?
This topic question is great in that it cuts straight to the heart of the matter of self inspired learning. That is, (we) need to preclude coercion from the equation of 'education' if (we are) it is to promote (real) learning as opposed to indoctrination.
I sincerely look forward to any discussion and thank you in advance for resteems, upvotes.
I agree this is an AND situation, and to many of my fellow home-edders have gone for 'or' and are in a more unschooling than home-schooling situation.
The issue for me in this is Supervision (which I define as distinct from 'authority' - the latter is dictating the story, the former is one who sees something the other cannot ~yet~).
But you have hit the nail upon the head as to where the answer is : to trust in life, or not.
Prescriptive education does not trust life to present the child with exactly what it needs for a future we cannot see.
Unschooling does.
Home Ed lies somewhere in between...(nervously, in my case)
Nervously here for us too AND only if we could find that global local rural urban quiet yet cultured place where we just know our children won't have to suffer the financial devastation of central banksters... It good to know I can live 1800s if need be however the kids want better!.. We are going to spend the next week building a family mission statement. I think this will be a great help.. maybe lead us to a successful family business.