Some thoughts on Education..
Today has been a weird day, since the very morning the only subject, that has been coming my way, while checking this and that on the internet, is the education and school stuff..
First, I saw an article, that a friend had shared, that her son, who goes to 8th grade, had been given a weird compulsory book to read by his literature teacher - a book by a scandal Estonian writer, who has been punished for owning (or something) child pornography, and the book itself, at least the published quote from it, could not be named anyhow else than quite a disturbing and disgusting pornography. Why should someone read it, is beyond me.. (Or why would someone even publish it..) That it has been given at school, is just sick. I realize that children these days can come across all kinds of stuff, and what you do in your own time, is kinda your own business, but to actually give it in school?! Sick. And the comment from the official side - we should trust teachers, because, obviously, what teacher does, he does with somekinda goal or point. Hm, ok.
Next, when opening Latvian news, there's an article - a mother has sent a complaint. Her child, a 2nd-grader, has had a test at school. There's a picture and "write a story about what you see in the picture and make up a headline for the story as well". This is the picture..
He wrote that "Three friends are picking mushrooms", and the teacher gave 0 points for it and wrote: It's a family.
After reading the comment section, and somehow there's a lot of comments under this article, all kinds of side details are coming up, like that the subject for the week had been "family", or it's not the teacher's fault, as she has anyway the answers given to her.. But it doesn't change the fact, the question and the craziness of the 0 points.
Sadly, though, it is nothing new.. I have heard stories, where a child in kindergarten has colored a car in many colors, not in one solid color, and also has gotten a sad face for it, or whatever. Because cars must be in one color.
These are small things, I suppose, but they just paint the picture, the disturbing picture of our (and I don't mean that much educational system of Estonia or Latvia, but as a whole - in most of the modern world it is quite the same) educational system.
I don't have a clear opinion or a stand on how it should be, exactly.. Yet. I have formed my opinion on how a pre-school education should be, more or less (for children age 6 and younger). And most likely I am just going to homeschool my children more or less until that.. But what happens, when they turn 7 and have to go to school?! That is a dark and scary picture for me.
I don't want to be some total hippy and school-hater.. Personally I wouldn't have anything to complain about, right? I was always doing perfectly good at school, front of the class, straight A student, achieved everything education-wise that I had set up to achieve.. But.. But. It wasn't all that great. And I guess, I just want something better for my children..
And, yes, actually, the worst part of school was grades 1st to 4th. I was incredibly bored. :( And somewhere there started the hatred of school.. I didn't like school. No-one did! Right?!? Everyone hates school, that was a known fact. It is just so sad, that it has to be that way..
When going to 5th grade, I got a bit more excited, as the system changed - we didn't have to anymore sit all day in one same classroom and be taught baby-ish subjects by one same teacher, but we could start walking around school like the big kids, and had all kinds of new and cool subjects, like history, biology.. and I remember I couldn't wait for chemistry and physics to start!
So, obviously, I am definitely not against the subjects as such, the wisdom.. I absolutely do believe, that children should have a chance to learn all these subjects at a really high level (while, sadly, exactly the opposite seems to happen, as they are trying to modernize the education).
Then again, problem is, how the stuff is taught.. I remember having a couple of really good teachers. Ones that are in love with their subject, really passionate about it, really smart in it as well, that they can be seen as an actual authority, inspiring! Of course, I guess there is a relevance of actual method how to teach as well, the ability to actually give the knowledge on.. But I am not a professional to judge that, I could only observe the effect.
In spite of some fond memories of couple of the teachers.. School still sucked.
Perhaps, too many subjects at once.. Too little choice. If you have to sit all day long at a boring subject and do, to you, pointless things, you get so exhausted.. That don't have even the joy or energy to pursue what you actually might be interested in or actually might want to learn. School kills joy and kills the love of learning. Even though it should be the opposite.. That's why I like Montessori so much.. Because it's trying to do the opposite. Sadly, there are no Montessori schools here.
Ok, I somehow survived, but thinking of my children.. When they have to go there.. And what all they will have to go through for so many years. It just breaks my heart. It stresses me out. And it scares me.
The obvious truth is, that the educational system, somehow the overall way it is built.. Is outdated. It was created hundreds of years ago, for a totally different society.. Society, where everyone had to just do their task and not step out of the box.
And then, to just complete this weird day, I saw this video on FB.. That kind of says it all.
So, that's it.. I really hope (!) that I am scared for no reason, and that it all will not be so bad, once Adelaide goes to school. I really hope the school will be great, the teachers amazing and innovative, and that she would love learning and enriching herself and her life.. forever. I really do hope so.
First, I saw an article, that a friend had shared, that her son, who goes to 8th grade, had been given a weird compulsory book to read by his literature teacher - a book by a scandal Estonian writer, who has been punished for owning (or something) child pornography, and the book itself, at least the published quote from it, could not be named anyhow else than quite a disturbing and disgusting pornography. Why should someone read it, is beyond me.. (Or why would someone even publish it..) That it has been given at school, is just sick. I realize that children these days can come across all kinds of stuff, and what you do in your own time, is kinda your own business, but to actually give it in school?! Sick. And the comment from the official side - we should trust teachers, because, obviously, what teacher does, he does with somekinda goal or point. Hm, ok.
Next, when opening Latvian news, there's an article - a mother has sent a complaint. Her child, a 2nd-grader, has had a test at school. There's a picture and "write a story about what you see in the picture and make up a headline for the story as well". This is the picture..
He wrote that "Three friends are picking mushrooms", and the teacher gave 0 points for it and wrote: It's a family.
After reading the comment section, and somehow there's a lot of comments under this article, all kinds of side details are coming up, like that the subject for the week had been "family", or it's not the teacher's fault, as she has anyway the answers given to her.. But it doesn't change the fact, the question and the craziness of the 0 points.
Sadly, though, it is nothing new.. I have heard stories, where a child in kindergarten has colored a car in many colors, not in one solid color, and also has gotten a sad face for it, or whatever. Because cars must be in one color.
These are small things, I suppose, but they just paint the picture, the disturbing picture of our (and I don't mean that much educational system of Estonia or Latvia, but as a whole - in most of the modern world it is quite the same) educational system.
I don't have a clear opinion or a stand on how it should be, exactly.. Yet. I have formed my opinion on how a pre-school education should be, more or less (for children age 6 and younger). And most likely I am just going to homeschool my children more or less until that.. But what happens, when they turn 7 and have to go to school?! That is a dark and scary picture for me.
I don't want to be some total hippy and school-hater.. Personally I wouldn't have anything to complain about, right? I was always doing perfectly good at school, front of the class, straight A student, achieved everything education-wise that I had set up to achieve.. But.. But. It wasn't all that great. And I guess, I just want something better for my children..
And, yes, actually, the worst part of school was grades 1st to 4th. I was incredibly bored. :( And somewhere there started the hatred of school.. I didn't like school. No-one did! Right?!? Everyone hates school, that was a known fact. It is just so sad, that it has to be that way..
When going to 5th grade, I got a bit more excited, as the system changed - we didn't have to anymore sit all day in one same classroom and be taught baby-ish subjects by one same teacher, but we could start walking around school like the big kids, and had all kinds of new and cool subjects, like history, biology.. and I remember I couldn't wait for chemistry and physics to start!
So, obviously, I am definitely not against the subjects as such, the wisdom.. I absolutely do believe, that children should have a chance to learn all these subjects at a really high level (while, sadly, exactly the opposite seems to happen, as they are trying to modernize the education).
Then again, problem is, how the stuff is taught.. I remember having a couple of really good teachers. Ones that are in love with their subject, really passionate about it, really smart in it as well, that they can be seen as an actual authority, inspiring! Of course, I guess there is a relevance of actual method how to teach as well, the ability to actually give the knowledge on.. But I am not a professional to judge that, I could only observe the effect.
In spite of some fond memories of couple of the teachers.. School still sucked.
Perhaps, too many subjects at once.. Too little choice. If you have to sit all day long at a boring subject and do, to you, pointless things, you get so exhausted.. That don't have even the joy or energy to pursue what you actually might be interested in or actually might want to learn. School kills joy and kills the love of learning. Even though it should be the opposite.. That's why I like Montessori so much.. Because it's trying to do the opposite. Sadly, there are no Montessori schools here.
Ok, I somehow survived, but thinking of my children.. When they have to go there.. And what all they will have to go through for so many years. It just breaks my heart. It stresses me out. And it scares me.
The obvious truth is, that the educational system, somehow the overall way it is built.. Is outdated. It was created hundreds of years ago, for a totally different society.. Society, where everyone had to just do their task and not step out of the box.
And then, to just complete this weird day, I saw this video on FB.. That kind of says it all.
So, that's it.. I really hope (!) that I am scared for no reason, and that it all will not be so bad, once Adelaide goes to school. I really hope the school will be great, the teachers amazing and innovative, and that she would love learning and enriching herself and her life.. forever. I really do hope so.
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