The children's classes have started. I prefer them at home, as they have been for the past three years while we were in the RV. However, they chose to enroll because they missed having consistent friends. I recognize the challenges of making friends in a new town where most children spend their days locked up in a school building, memorizing king's wives' names and learning obedience-driven submission.
Our current school system was imported from Prussia less than a century ago to mold farm boys into factory workers. Its emphasis remains on rote memorization, obedience to authority, and disregard for individuality and personal inclinations.
During our three years on the motorhome, the children experienced what education scholars term "Unschooling" or "Self-Driven Education." This approach allows a child's innate interests to steer their educational journey. Above all, it is a gesture of respect—honoring their interests, abilities, and unique perspectives.
Today, our kids know we don't care about grades or rote memorization of triangle names, the periodic table, useless math formulas, names of the kings' wives, the tongue taste map, or anything readily available on the internet or can be performed by AI. Hence, I hope their school experience will be less oppressive than their peers.
After his first week back, Thor, who was last in school as a kindergartener, found it boring. He lamented the excessively sedentary, monotonous lectures and the scarcity of quality time with friends. But he did earn a gold star sticker.
I reminded him that stickers and grades resemble trainers rewarding marine creatures with treats for performing tricks. He smiled and said he hadn't yet learned to jump through any hoops.
But soon, he will learn how to bully other kids, find drugs before the appropriate time, and ignore a friend who needs help with a test.
Most people might have grown accustomed to our current school system, but it's fundamentally flawed. And it's a primary reason our society is so misguided today.
Here are three great books about unschooling and our current education system:
Passion-Driven Education: How to Use Your Child's Interests to Ignite a Lifelong Love of Learning
Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life
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