Personally, I don’t like Ayn Rand. From my understanding, she takes many good ideas (like “don’t care what other people think”) and stretches them too for (“don’t care about other people”). Her vision of the individual as superior to the masses lacks the concept that an individual might be *inferior* to the masses; it all depends on the particular individual in question. Simply being unconventional doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re right, though of course many great ideas are unconventional.

But yes, I agree that we should not be intimidated by new ideas.

Lightworker extraordinaire indeed

Trevor, thank you for your thoughtful responses, as well. I appreciated your ideas!

Hi Kay. This is what I have come to believe.

I believe that Paulo Freire may have made the most important statement ever on the question of a child’s education (in Pedagogy of the Oppressed): “If children reared in an atmosphere of lovelessness and oppression, children whose potency has been frustrated, do not manage during their youth to take the path of authentic rebellion, they will either drift into total indifference, alienated from reality by the authorities and the myths the latter have used to “shape” them; or they may engage in forms of destructive action.”

For this statement to have meaning, we must recognize the oppression that we are subjected to… Paulo also gives the best definition of oppression and its source that I have ever read… Problem is, we cannot understand Paulo because his knowledge comes from praxis, something that the education system drives out of us at an early age…

The other problem is that we have no understanding/experience of “authentic rebellion”, because that possibility is excluded by the structures that constrain us. Authentic rebellion is anchored in a vital thrust for liberation, not motivated by guilt or fear or responsibility…

Sorry, that is the best I can do in a blog format.

Denis Rancourt
activistteacher.blogspot.com
dgr -at- uottawa.ca

Most people see only one option for giving their kids better (formal) schooling: put the kids in the best school you can find, period. To an extent this is true: in a ‘good’ school, compared to a mediocre one, your kids will be challenged to learn at a more advanced level for their age. This is certainly the safest option. They [i]will[/i] learn more. But, due to increased pushing by the school and increased competition among classmates, they will also be much more subservient to the ‘carrot-and-the-whip’system, much less independent. (For a good example, simply think, who is more likely to defy societal norms: a private school graduate, or a high school dropout?)

There is a second option.

When I was in 6th grade I was getting bullied all the time. I hated school and it extended into my private life due to diminished self-esteem. So my parents pulled me out and sent me to a different school in the area, a K-12 Public school with a student body totaling less than 300. The classes were so small that there was little room for cliques or bullies, so I was much happier.

I was already a relatively intelligent student, largely because my parents had started educating me early at home before I ever came to school. But when I arrived at this tiny, tiny school, I was academically bored out of my mind! I took every advanced class available, 5 or 6 online courses, 3 college courses, a year of VOTECH electronics training… I devoured everything that the school had to offer but it was still so little that I didn’t have to spend much time learning.

So what did I do? Well, being bored academically, but of a curious mind, I learned to challenge myself. I would go home and simply learn about anything that was mentioned in class that the teachers would not discuss in depth. I taught myself an instrument, I was reading laymans-terms books on quantum theory at 13 or 14. Now I’m in university, still thinking independently and challenging myself every day.

What is of utmost importance in your childrens schooling is that (1) They’re in a positive social environment, because what one learns from school is how to interact with others more than anything else. (2) You learn to stimulate their curiosity. Nothing will help them more. (3) You provide the resources (books, equipment, etc.) to encourage their personal growth. Never hold them back.

Whether your kids go to a challenging school, or an easy school, these three things are all that will ultimately matter in how they learn and grow for the rest of their lives. You want them to be socially and mentally happy, curious, and to have the resources to push themselves as much as they want. Beyond that, it’s out of your hands.

The problem is that the fields of academia that ought to merit self-expression start to mirror the type of education listed in the previous paragraph. In analysis courses I’m expected to analyze situations in a way that agrees with the professors opinions, not to truly analyze from my own perspective. To provide another example, I have a friend who is top of her class at what is considered to be an ivy-league art school (SCAD). Her work is absolutely brilliant — but if she doesn’t create in the style that her professor favors, it hurts her grade severely.

This sort of thing is ridiculous. I came to university for two reasons: the first is that I want to become a more intelligent, well-rounded person. The second is for that piece of paper at the end of it all, not because [i]I[/i] see it as having any real value (I know plenty of idiots with degrees) but because it opens a lot of doors in a lot of places for me.

It appears to me that most people at the undergraduate level are in university because (1). they have the vague feeling that they need a degree, regardless of if they know what they actually want to do with their lives. (2). They feel that their families expect it of them. (3). They think that a degree is the best bet to help them make a lot of money. (4). If they know what they want to do, it is actual, useful vocational training.

Numbers 1-3 all simply encourage the carrot-and-the-whip system. It is not until you realize that only [i]you[/i] can truly evaluate yourself that you start to become a better student in the real, learning for keeps, sense of things.

To Gretchen: The question is not what can I do about it, but what [i]will[/i] I do? If I had no other priorities, I would withdraw, and just go to random classes until I found ones that were stimulating, and then frequent them as long as it was useful for my growth. No tuition, grades, or unnecessary homework required.

But, as I said previously, I want the degree because it opens a lot of doors, and I want a relatively high grade as well in case I go to grad school [And I need it to maintain scholarships]. So basically, it becomes a question of, how much Cain can I raise within my classes while still getting high marks?

If I want to do well while thinking independently, I essentially have to be extremely clear and concise in my work and ideas. I have to be so da**ed good that even if my professors don’t agree with me, they still have to acknowledge my skill and subject mastery. It will require a lot more effort than just “getting by” on my part, but in the long run it will probably be worth it.

Also, Gretchen, everyone has different learning styles. That’s why those kids are seen as learning disabled — if the way you learn does not fit in with the way teachers are taught to teach, you simply won’t understand it. In a different sort of education system, these problems wouldn’t be so pronounced, but for now we just need people like you to help them learn what they otherwise wouldn’t, and to make it known that these kids aren’t idiots, they’re just unintentional nonconformists.

My favorite (and most challenging) university courses were taught by an eccentric, brilliant and tough professor at Georgia Tech by the name of Dr. Phil Adler, who “lectured” exclusively via the Socratic method. They were all electives, and I took four of them back to back. I can truly say that those 12 credit hours were the most valuable of my four year education, and he was named one of the top 10 professors ever to teach at the Institute.