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As far as I am concerned schools are bit outdated so what about online and homeschooling under socialist states?
The way in which many schools operate, and their curriculum, and how they treat kids, are outdated, sure. The notion of schools altogether though, definitely isn’t outdated.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 For homeschooling though- hell no, IMO that’s even more outdated than the present issues of the school system and comes with all sorts of issues.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 agree that homeschooling can be done right- but it requires a considerable amount of knowledge, time, resources, and effort on the parent’s part- as well as, of course, the parent being “genuinely good” and not simply believing themselves to be so.
I think a majority of the time- perhaps even an overwhelming majority of the time- things don’t add up in such a way in practice. I’ve certainly never seen it IMO. And the risks that come with it tend to far, far outweigh the potential benefits (though I think that it, or at least online schooling, should be an option for niche cases- though alternative school options are still probably preferable even then). Though to be fair- in its implementation here in the west, I’d probably go so far as to say that homeschooling is allowed, specifically to pander to such risks (social ills)- religious fanatics, abusers and control freaks, pseudoscience believers (primarily antivax), and people wanting to wring out free child labor from their kids.
There are plenty of homeschooling circles just full of this shit and I’ve seen them, other than the antivax I’ve even experienced it all. Even now in my late 20s I have nothing but suspicion for the practice (as flawed as schooling may be as well- which I’ve also experienced) and will probably hold the same strong opinion for life. Should the option remain available? Perhaps, but under lock and key and the strictest possible scrutiny; and even then it should probably be less “homeschooling” and more “community-schooling” as an alternative to “institutional (mainstream)-schooling.” In its present form I think it’s a prime example of the bourgeois, private conceptualization of family in action as Marx called to be abolished.
As far as I am concerned schools are bit outdated
I have seen no reason to think this, and the AES states seem not to have, either.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.
Completely BASED
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.
Indeed, society should be a good influence upon children. Unfortunately today’s schooling often makes people hate reading and try to stop learning as soon as possible.
Bingo
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.
Obviously, and so can Cuba, and I think they will as the west wanes.
Oh
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.
We also have to get away from the Panopticon we’ve created out of schools. I speak from experience here as a person who manages and implements these systems: You can not walk a hall without being recorded, you can’t send an email without it potentially being flagged and sent to administration, you can’t browse a website without it being logged and eventually used against you.
Schools have become little state surveillance conditioning centers.
Linked to this is the total lack of critical thought when introducing technology into a students academic life. Computer labs are things of the past. More and more districts are implementing 1:1 programs, which do help with equity but create new problems. Very often there is no guidance on when it’s appropriate to use technology as part of the curriculum, and at worst an outright mandate that technology is used at all times to justify the cost.
I’ve been witness to dozens of cases of kids who are rabidly attached to their devices in an unhealthy way. Often its a symptom of an underlying neurodivergence.
No critical thought or material understating of the implications of requiring device use for K-12 students. No thoughts on if this establishes a bad pattern of device dependency. No critical thoughts on Google or Apple and or the ethics of shuffling students down a pipeline that makes it harder for them to use alternatives, incubating future consumers. No consideration of alternatives, mostly do to lack of manpower required to implement them. Not a single shop equivalent education path that teaches you how computers work, how you might service them, and so on.
I think about this story often:
https://opensource.com/education/14/9/open-source-benefits?ool
https://opensource.com/education/16/1/getting-started-in-it-through-a-student-run-help-desk
I wonder what kind of impact it had on even the tech neutral students. What kind of opinions or skills did these students pick up from being participants? What kind of culture did the kids have as a result of getting their needs met by other students? The benefits for the students involved in the helpdesk are obvious, what about the subtle benefits?
Laws like COPPA do more harm then good frankly. Once administration understands the filtering system required to comply with COPPA can also pull logs at any time, its instantly weaponized against students. Often what is filtered comes down to not just the letter of the law but also the individual biases of the staff managing the tech or the administration.
I can’t imagine what its like from the perspective of the average student and how it shapes their worldview.
Is it worse, or is it just the usual bias of “The youth these days is degenerate” reaching our generation ?
