Schools versus Education: what is it that we want to teach?
I came across this incredible article on education. It really says it all—my entire personal education experience in the United States, then teaching experience, and Master’s coursework (including law school experience) can be summed up in this article below.
Prior to moving to the United States, Zain and I had been significantly home schooled due to the type of schools that were available in the the small desert town where we lived in the Middle East. All our books were imported from England. However, our homeschooling was without any proper “credentialing” as done in the US. Only when looking back on it do I consider Zain and I as thankful for the homeschooling we received. Initially we felt there must be a lacking because we never fit in with the mainstream young adults (not just Zain and I, but all four of us have walked our own path regardless how tumultous or how hard we tried to resist). We were light years ahead of our American peers and were critical thinkers from a very young age. This also meant we had a very difficult time assimilating. For the longest time we thought it had to do with the fact that we were brown or any other type of different when now I realize that was only a fragment of the issue. We had had the most unique childhood. Period.
Education and Law are two extremely empowering degrees that I have been blessed and privileged to attain. I am indebted to the Universe for allowing me my current opportunity to step back and engage in this hiatus (which is a burden and a relief, some nights are dark but the reward is hopeful days or vice versa) to juxtapose how best to work WITHIN a system (law and/or education) which aims to create mass consumers who can not think for themselves.
When you have time, please do read this. Moreover, if you want to just skim, I have highlighted some sections for your convenience.
Why Schools Don’t Education by John Taylor Gatto.
Some excerpts from it:
Without children and old people mixing in daily life, a community has no future and no past, only a continuous present. In fact, the term “community” hardly applies to the way we interact with each other. We live in networks, not communities, and everyone I know is lonely because of that.
I don’t think we’ll get rid of schools any time soon, certainly not in my lifetime, but if we’re going to change what’s rapidly becoming a disaster of ignorance, we need to realize that the institution “schools” very well, but it does not “educate”; that’s inherent in the design of the thing. It’s not the fault of bad teachers or too little money spent. It’s just impossible for education and schooling to be the same thing.
Schools are intended to produce, through the application of formulas, formulaic human beings whose behavior can be predicted and controlled.
To a very great extent, schools succeed in doing this. But our society is disintegrating, and in such a society, the only successful people are self-reliant, confident, and individualistic — because the community life that protects the dependent and weak is dead. The products of schooling are, as I’ve said, irrelevant. Well-schooled people are irrelevant. They can sell film and razor blades, push paper and talk on telephones, or sit mindlessly before a flickering computer terminal, but as human beings they are useless — useless to others and useless to themselves.”