We all know how brain dead education under capitalism which is worse now that Gen Alpha is around. Any possible alternate models outside of cramming a shitload onto 30+ kids only for them to forget it?
more schools, more teachers, more funding for schools would already solve a lot of the problems at the moment. funding for schools meaning not only funding teachers and class materials, but also meals, after school activities etc.
As far as I am concerned schools are bit outdated so what about online and homeschooling under socialist states?
The way in which many schools operate, and their curriculum, and how they treat kids, are outdated, sure. The notion of schools altogether though, definitely isn’t outdated.
Online is… possible, but comes with its own issues, the largest of which is the possible lack of socializing as a result. For homeschooling though- hell no, IMO that’s even more outdated than the present issues of the school system and comes with all sorts of issues.
As someone who was homeschooled a few years here and there- as someone who has seen how rife the abuses were towards others- hell no, homeschooling is deeply, extremely questionable and barring extraordinary circumstances, I don’t even think it should even be legal, and would question any system (such as that of the country I live in) wherein it is easily accessible without demonstrable need and thorough scrutiny. It’s like a breeding ground for abusers, religious nutjobs, and child labor exploitation.
To be fair, homeschooling can be done right by genuinely good parents, but I definitely believe it should be rendered obsolete by having much better schools as I have described here, especially since homeschooling gives immense control of a child to parents, even when homeschooling is done right.
i do not think schools are outdated. they are underfunded and teachers are overworked sure, but the setting of the school is the main environment where a child can socialise and learns to interact with society in general. i am against online and homeschooling because they fail to provide a child with interactions with peers, as well as requiring a lot of efforts from parents (cooking, monitoring, becoming part time teachers) that is just unsustainable on a large scale.
In general, I believe we should give students much more democratic control and responsibility over their schools, similar to how it is run in Sudbury Valley, which I recommend you guys research for some ideas on this topic.
I believe that things like reading, writing, and arithmetic should be required classes and taught to all. More specialized topics, such as the arts, literature, history, etc. should be optional and free for all students who are curious. Older students should be given compulsory safety classes about topics such as alcohol, drugs, sex education, driving, crime, etc. Books and other resources should be freely available for anybody who wants to learn about any topic. Make school truly about learning and following your curiosity.
Get rid of homework and grades, give tests in order for students to demonstrate competency in whatever topic they are studying. Not all tests should be paper tests, some should be hands-on project-based. Graduation should be as a reward by passing a test based on all the basics required to thrive in society, a long with a thesis explaining how you are ready to take on the world. Those who do not graduate should still be able to survive and even thrive just like everyone else, and should be freely given the opportunity to come back and try to graduate if they so choose.
Expand the definition of education beyond the classroom. Emphasize that being alive itself is a learning experience.
Treat young people with respect, give them some sort of say in the school. No more blind obedience to authorities. Teachers will act as accountable mentors and experts, not as omnipotent bosses. At the same time, students can’t have unlimited power either. They must balance their expanded freedom with expanded responsibility and accountability.
I would recommend reading some stuff by Robert Epstein and Peter Gray. They are psychologists who talk a lot about youth rights and education reform, but keep in mind that they can be libby at times. There aren’t many communists that talk about these topics, even though they definitely should.
These are just some of my thoughts on the topic, I am very passionate about it. I haven’t worded my thoughts the best and they aren’t perfect anyway, but I still believe it is much better than what we currently have.
What are your thoughts, everyone?
Literature and history should absolutely not be optional, especially world literature and world history. I don’t care how much kids whine, or how boring they claim it is; because it is the lack of education in those subjects that have created a lot of the historical and cultural ignorance we see in the world.
Math education should also go far beyond arithmetic. Entry level, first year calculus and statistics is a much better “stopping point”. At that point math starts to get a bit to esoteric too be useful in day to day life, but up until then, the math learned is invaluable for a person being able to function in society.
We need to get rid of grades and institute dialogical education (read pedagogy of the oppressed). Eventually, maybe abolish mandatory schooling like in News From Nowhere, because children are drawn to learn anyway, especially without coercion.
Mandatory schooling could probably be done away with eventually, yeah. Though I think it would be important to have some sort of social grouping and structure for kids- to provide opportunities for socializing, to ensure proper nutrition/exercise/that they’re not being abused, exploited, that they have agency within reason and law, rather than being essentially the property of their parents, etc… in such a scenario.
Once again, I look to Cuba.
I mean, Cuban schools have similar hours to Western schools, but they also have 90 minutes of free time multiple times a school day, from what I’ve heard, and we aren’t bashing them, are we?
Yes, the Cuban system is better than what is in the West, but I believe we can still do even better.
The only way to defuse kids’ timetables is to ensure that mandatory education must continue after you are 18. While the kids are away on summer break, we need to use the empty classrooms to put all the adults to the test, examine their blind spots rigorously and without mercy, and guide them towards fixing their problems. Too many grown adults cannot tell you how vaccines work, where nuclear power comes from, what Linux is, how kimchi tastes, who Henry Kissinger was, or how to read a pie chart. There are 50-year-olds out there right now who can’t read, and cars are being driven by them. The perils emanating from an uneducated working adult are much more vicious, insidious, and dangerous than from an uneducated kid, and it is high time we started paying attention to the threat they pose.
