On Children in Our Schools

After spending years in America's public schools I realized that the school system is not designed to serve the interests and needs of the individual. It is, however, an institution created for people to serve the systerm. This is perhaps not a novel idea to those who have studied and worked in the system for years. This compulsory schooling system is perhaps the most damaging institution to the lives of people because it is designed to control the behavior and minds of people. As a result, people spend 12 years of their lives being indoctrinated into the idea of success and failure; have and have nots; inferiority and superiority; repression and aggression. For years this happens, 9 months out of the year and then our children are released from one prison as they seek to move into the next one.

I saw this the other day as I was working with a group of boys at school. I realized how we all come into this world with this great light and energy but as we get older that light is darkened by our experiences in school and home. It is a dark period for children because society is against impulsive behavior; our programs and structures do not allow for the expression of the whole self. Instead, kids are taught to use their left brain to solve problems rather than the right brain or the whole brain. Kids are not taught how to resolve and so they are left constantly defending themselves against an army of strangers on the playground and in the classroom. They are thrown from teacher to teacher, room to room, subject to subject, until they are exhausted and tired from the heavy workloads assigned by teachers. These teacher are silent agents and conspirators in the educational system. Their ideal as interns was perhaps to impact the lives of students but instead has become simply disciplining and grading students.

Was the school system a solution to the corporate and political leaders 40-hr week schedule? What will kids do as the parents go to work in the fields and factories? Yes. Let's teach them how to get ready for what their parents are doing! We will tell them that they must do this if they want a job, be successful, have a home, and raise a family. The schools program kids everyday into thinking that they NEED to go to school in order to be happy in life.

In the modern world, children are faced with overstimulation from all sides: food, video games, TV, music, and all the technology you can find today. However, as they sit in the classrooms, they are asked to act in a way that is contrary to what they are constantly getting in the world. In other worlds, they are asked to 'behave' 'sit still' 'be quiet' in a world of noise and constant activity. Hmmmm...interesting, huh? This confuses our kids and they react towards things they don't understand and things unquestioned.

To be continued...