As a child, I hated being confined to a classroom to learn. To me, even as a young as I was, I wanted to experience life as it happened, rather than have life pass me by while I sat in a classroom. In high school, I hated that I had to attend classes when I didn't care for the subjects. And maybe it wasn't the subjects as much as it was the system. As soon as it was time to go to college, I wanted to choose how and where I spent my days. More importantly, I was tired of everything falling into two categories; right or wrong.
That's why I chose to study Art; to have the freedom to create without being right or wrong. Without my abilities and intelligence being measured by a piece of paper, and without conforming to a rule or a specific curriculum. I loved every minute of it. Consequently, I majored in fashion design and loved how there were no exams, but only assessments. And assessments did not have right or wrong. It was simply a meeting and discussion with your tutor to go through the project and see how I interpreted it. In other words, my creativity, imagination and perception were seen as valid and valuable contributions. If school had been like, a place where my creativity was encouraged instead of suppressed, my imagination triggered instead of shot down, and my perception valued instead of overlooked, I would've been an advocate for schools and schooling.
School
Work
There is no doubt that schools have one purpose; to prepare you for a life of conformity, obedience and oppression. In the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, The Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire, states the following about the role of schools;
a) The teacher teaches and the students are taught;
b) The teacher knows everything and the students know nothing.
c) The teacher talks and the students listen.
d) The teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it;
e) The teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply;
f) The teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects.
g) The teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his own professional authority, which he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students;
If you see the formula for schools, it easily mirrors that of working life. In many professions, workers must wear uniform, fear and obey their supervisor/manager, adhere to precise code of conduct and rules, repeat the same mental and physical routine for 8-14 hours a day. In many professions, break times are chosen by the supervisor, staff is consistently monitored and pressured to deliver high quality without much appreciation. There is no point of 8-14 hours of attendance for most professions as the work can often be done in half of that time or less. The same way with schools, what children learn in the 6 hours can be learned in half that time, or less. But it's not about quality for these institutions; it's about ownership. You belong to your school or company for the hours they dictate.
"Schools are designed on the assumption that there is a secret to everything in life; that the quality of life depends upon knowing that secret; that secrets can only be known in orderly successions; and that only teachers can properly reveal these secrets. An individual with a schooled mind conceives of the world as a pyramid of classified packages accessible only to those who carry the proper tags." (Ivan Illich)
Why homeschooling is the future
There is another way of course. Education requires nurture and nurture breeds mentally, behaviourally and physically positive and productive children. When children are allowed the space to learn, question and grow, magical things happen. Homeschooling allows children to explore the world, not through their teacher's eyes, or the curriculum of the school, but through different eyes. They are taught to be themselves, to preserve their individuality and to learn from their experiences, and not only from books.
And contrary to popular opinion, homeschooled children are not socially inept. There are many homeschooled meet-ups of parents and their homeschooled children, where they can socialise, learn together through active exploration such as field trips and exchange ideas and teaching methods and material. Children who are homeschooled are often more confident,motivated, quick-witted, mature and open minded. In the US, homeschooling is one of the fastest growing form of education, and there are about 2.3 million homeschooled students.
One of the biggest reasons why homeschooling is the best option for parents is the issue of safety. When your children are away from you for 6 - 8 hours a day, you have no idea whether they are bullied or not, (or maybe are the bully), what bad habits they could be learning (smoking, drugs, swear words etc) and whether their teacher/s is verbally, mentally or even sexually abusing them. It may sound exaggerated, but these things happen,and all the time. With homeschooling, your children are safe from the corruption and oppression of the society you live in, and more importantly, you and your children will have a stronger bond through this experience.
If you would like to read previous parts, click here for the introduction, here for Part 1, and here for Part 2.