Comments on: vulnerable youth

By: Tracy

Tracy — Mon, 07 Jun 2004 15:23:59 +0000

I think involving children in their own education is a great idea. Allowing children to teach other children about a subject is not a new idea, its been going on for ages. (Book reports, oral presentations, science fair… etc) But letting the children teach about something they are passionate about is exciting for me. Yes, you might end up with someone wanting to teach all about American Idol or the Matrix. Use the subjects the children teach, and link it with other subjects. Show them how they are connected.

Not a solution, no… But there doesn’t seem to be a way to go back to what education should be. I don’t think we should go back. What we need to do is look at family, community, and education with entirely new eyes.

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 05 Jun 2004 10:17:33 +0000

I don’t think schools can solve these problems by themselves. And it is not their responsibility. Its a problem of society. I think there are multiple reasons for the current crisis. Basically classes often have too many pupils. Teachers can hardly remember their pupils names. And if they do, rather the names of the few troublemakers which are crying for help and attention.
Schools have changed from places where children were taught to places where the want to be parented. (I also see this shift at Uni.) This used to be done by the parents, now this seems to have become a responsibility of teachers. It doesn’t work like this. It can’t.

Parents have a job and can’t spend that much time with their children. The social network of neighbours, grandparents etc. doesn’t exist any more. (Grandparents are hardly grandparents any more. Being “young” and on the move is much more desirable.) Kids get a complete deformed image of reality from media, where the “image of reality is turned into an average idea” (C.G.Jung). Besides, as you say, future (plans) and health are the result of an optimistic life view. I would add also a “meaningful” life view. I think even if it isn’t so optimistic – if life makes “sense” people will bare it. For most people this used to be filled by a variety of believe systems. For most of the people these don’t function any more, or are distorted as well. Leaving a void – that can’t be filled with consumption (Adbusters? Chomsky?) . Then there are no older people around that could be role models for the youth. (Robert Bly has written about this extensively, working with gang members as well.) And many other factors. There would be enough to rant for ten papers. Anyway.

Even with an increase of educational expenses resulting in smaller classes, more teachers etc. these problems wouldn’t be solved. But i have no idea what the solution is. Read Buckminster Fullers “Letter to the Unborn Children”.
Here some statistics on educational expenses. The US are on the 36th place, far behind Lithuania, Switzerland, Sudan, Italy or Japan. Haven’t verified the source i must admit http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/edu_pub_spe_per_stu_pri_lev
Yes, i am aware that this is a crude generalisation – but i don’t have the time to elaborate on it longer. IMHO Michael
BTW To be able to teach you have to be good at something. Nice idea Scott, but hardly a solution for the general problem.

By: scott

scott — Fri, 04 Jun 2004 13:40:12 +0000

i’d like to see kids teaching kids.

let any kid propose a course: on hacking, on graffiti art, on unicycling, on short story writing, on fashion or anti-fashion. let them teach one-day courses, wknd courses, month-long courses. let them teach groups or one-on-one. have an adult facilitator on hand when the law or safety requires it.

i think the deep flaw in our handling of education is condemnation. we condemn so much of what children do — so much of what they *are* — and this catalyzes rebellion into (self-)destruction.

we must learn to trust them. we can lend legitimacy to their experience by providing the resources and frameworks for them to cooperatively create it themselves.