“What is School For?”
This is an introductory post. Over the next four days I will be reading Seth Godin’s new free book Stop Stealing Dreams (you can download it here.) I invite you to read it with me. I’d love to discuss it via the comments below.
Godin’s blog has been a huge motivation over the past few months. The new title inspired me to review my thoughts on my education history and take action to begin a discussion on my blog.
My Experience
Subtle Unconscious Feelings
As I grew through the school system in Northern Nevada, I had a subtle unconscious feeling that something was awry with the process that I was being subjected to. Though I had a subtle consciousness of the discomfort, I never had the capacity to explain this feeling in a productive way. School was very difficult, not because it was challenging, but because it was often dull and prison like.
I had some fantastic teachers. They left an unforgettable positive effect on me. They were not overly strict, and they were capable of inspiring me to desire development. They focused their efforts on keeping us fascinated with the subjects, rather than in line with regulation.
My worst teachers were always the authoritarian rulers. I have terrible memories of them and I feel like much of my capacity for development was stunted by the experiences they provided.
I graduated from the public school system and found much more success at the University of Nevada. The freedom to select my classes, show up for classes, and the choice of extracurricular activities allowed me to drive my own development. I found this system to be far more productive.
That subtle understanding that the compulsory school system had failed me remained dormant in my mind. I knew it was there, but I couldn’t productively explain it. Somewhere along the line, I watched this video:
You can watch more of Sir Ken Robinson here and here.
This made it all clear. I believe Ken Robinson is right, we need a education revolution.
Exploring this idea inspired me to read Seth Godin’s new book. Please read it over the next few days with me. Please feel free to discuss it below. I imagine a few teachers will read this and I hope that they express their thoughts.
Teachers are the experts and I think their voices on this matter carry more clout.
Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. I look forward to hearing from you.
