Tee Yaps

EDIT: DONT WASTE TIME READING. THIS NO GOOD. LOTS OF YAP. I COME BACK AND FIX LATER

Institutionalizing our Youth

From the moment of conception, our lives are shaped by institutions. We are birthed at a hospital, spend our early years at daycare, and then enter the public school system. Afterwards, many of us go on to pursue higher education – yet another institution. It seems we are constantly institutionalized.

But should we continue this cycle? Is it Ideal?

Children are naturally curious, and inquisitive. However, when you subject a child to sit at a desk for eight hours a day, for twelve years. And teach them material that is distant and removed from their everyday life, it is no wonder they become disengaged. Naturally they will bore of it. I don’t think it’s an understatement to say it is torture.

Even when students do show curiosity, they are discouraged. By raising your hand, asking questions in class and by showing genuine interest, you are met with ridicule or scolding from teachers and peers. By raising your hand, you risk asking the ‘wrong question’ and being met with shame. Or you are discouraged for being ‘off-topic.’

Students are rarely given the opportunity to think for themselves. They are talk at endlessly, given little time for reflection, and shuffled from one class to the next. Each subject is a new topic with little connection to what came before. They are expected to absorb information quickly without time to truly digest it or make it meaningful. Students need to let the information simmer in their brains for learning to happen. For learning to happen, children need to draw connections to the material. To make it relavant to them. If a student does try to sit and make sense of the material, they are dismissed as not ‘paying attention’ or day-dreaming.

Some of the worlds greatest minds found that learning requires more than just rote instructions. Albert Einstein took frequent naps throughout the day to aid him in problem-solving and creative thinking. His theory of relativity came partly from a dream he had. Niels Bohr’s work on the atomic structure model was influenced by a dream he had about sitting on the sun. Napoleon Bonaparte took frequent but short naps on the battlefield to maintain strategic clarity and energy. Leonardi Da Vinci took naps every 4 hours. Even Thomas Edison would take naps to stay productive.

It seems students are punished for being curious and for having an imagination. But isn’t schooling supposed to make them MORE curious, and EXPAND their imagination, rather than stifle it?

So what is the role of Modern Public Schooling?

The influence of our public education system today comes largely from a man named Horace Mann. He is dubbed as The father of American Education. He was many things. He was an attorney, an abolitionist, and he also served on the US House of Representatives from 1848–1853. But where did he get the idea for the public education system we have today?

Prior to Mann, children were educated in their homes in America. Like most of the population at the time, the founding fathers themselves received the bulk of their education at home. Outside of the homes, the educational landscape featured schools run by churches and philanthropists for poor people. People also went to private tutors. This was an atmosphere of a vibrant free-thinking ecosystem.

Americans, at this time, by any metric, before schooling was standardized, were incredibly educated. Studies show literacy rates from the mid to late 1700s were significantly higher than they are today.

I realize, I still have not answered the question posed earlier, What is the role of modern schooling ?

To answer this, we need to look at where our system of public education comes from. Education before Mann, was closely tied with the church in North America. In fact, they were inseparable. One of the first education laws passed in North America was The Old Deluder Satan Act of 1647. This act was passed by Puritans who believed ALL individuals should be able to read and interpret the bible for themselves to avoid being decieved by “ye old deluder, Satan.” That was the main purpose of education and it was the responsibilities of the towns to educate their people. Not the central government.

Before Mann, schooling aimed to educate children to think for themselves, and to be close to god. When he came, the responsibility of education shifted from local government to federal government. Children were taught the same things and religion was slowly removed from the curricula.

I will answer the question now.

Horace Mann’s inpiration for the modern schooling system in America today comes from a prison system he observed when he visited Prussia (now Germany). When he visited this prison, he was impressed by how obedient the inmates were. He saw that they were unquestioning and conforming. He sought to implement this system to public education.

That is the system we have today. This system fits perfectly into a capitalistic society. When the country is run by large corporations, its politicians will obviously look out for the interest of these corporations. Large corporations would want obedient, unquestioning and conforming workers. When students graduate from school, large corporations are given a perfect pool of candidates to hire.

Had these students the ability to NOT conform, to QUESTION, and NOT obey, they may decide they don’t want to work for a large corporation. They may even try to COMPETE with them. Granted a few individuals competing likely would not matter. But what happens when everyone empowered? Then these ‘small fish’ start chipping away at the company’s profits. BIG COMPANIES NO LIKE THIS SHAT. They want a type of schooling that will easily transition graduating students into biddable workers. This is the type of schooling that would benefits these large corporations.

Department Of Education

One thing I am interested to see, Is how Donald Trump will change that. He says he wants to give power back to the states and local governments when it comes to education. This way states and local governments can tailor the curricula to make it relavant to the community and environment they are in. He wants to close down the Department of Education.

I’m not sure if this is a good idea. On one hand, teaching employs the largest number of people. Closing it down would impact significant employment areas in addition to teaching, such as support staff (admins, counselors, custodians), education consulting, course developers, tutors, training and development specialists. technology providers (blackboard), textbook publishers, school supply companies, therapists and specialists, policy orgs to name a few.

A lot of people would be without jobs, that is without question.

But consider this. Every time there is a candidate running for office, one of their big selling points is pouring money into education. They want to invest in their community! and their kids! They promise to provide a better-quality education. And they pour A LOT of money into it.

What happens to this money? These politician care for the interest of corporations before they care for the people. This money goes to buy new edition textbooks where only a few words are changed. It goes towards overpaying for school supplies that is not needed. Paying for consulting services that provide no benefit.

Very rarely do things change. The students are the lowest priority. Hardly any money is spent for their benefit. after all that money is spent, they will go to school the next day, and notice no change. They will walk to their classes in the dimly flourescent-bulb lit hallways, and eat the same shitty school lunches.

So What is the Solution?

How do you educate your kids?

As I stated earlier, Our founding fathers were schooled at home. Just like the rest of the population. Common schooling was not the norm. In fact, common schooling was declining up until the mid-19th century. More and more people were being educated at home. Up until Horace Mann came along…The trend reversed and support for public schooling grew. Now we see the homeschooling movement growing again. Parents do not want their children adopting values that conflict with theirs.

Studies show that when students are put through the public education system, they become less religious, and more disconnected from their family.

A common pattern in the west is that when students are teenagers, they think they know everything. They rebel against their parents. They think their parents don’t know anything. Respect for parents is virtually nonexistent. In this culture students are raised by the state.

Contrast this with children that grow up in the east. Elders are respected. Their parents’ word is law. Even if they feel their parents are wrong, they must still listen and show respect. In this culture children are raised by their parent/family.

Baligh

The religion of Islam does not recognize the teenage years of a person. A person is either a child or they are an adult. Adulthood starts when a person reaches baligh or puberty. This is around the age of 13 -14 years old. Or 15 years-old max. But can be even Earlier. They should be treated like young adults at this age.

Manners

When Imam Malik ( رحمه الله ), one of the four main scholars of Islam, was taken to Iman ar-Rabi’ah (رحمه الله ) to seek knowledge, his mother told him, “study his manners before you take from his knowledge.” Some accounts suggest he dedicated years to learning good adab manners. The importance of having good manners should not be understated.

With this understanding, Parents should educate their children themselves and send them to people they trust to educate them. Student should firstly, learn from the character and the manners of their teachers. Parents should set high standards for their children so children can strive to meet them.

When students are taught by someone they trust and respect. Their learning is more relavant. And It is more personalized to that student. They will strive to meet the approval of that teacher. With this, dynamic, I believe a childs’ intellect will easily surpass that of their peers, and even adults. Not only that, they will be raised upon good manners.  And they will have a loving relationship with their parents in their “teenage” years.

Today’s western teachers are very distant. Very rarely are they good teachers. A lot of them don’t even have kids themselves. Their students can’t relate to them either.

A lot of them are women. Let me be clear. I don’t think there is anything wrong with a having a female teacher. I would just say it might be a little bit harder to command respect. Definitely doable.

To illustrate my point, take the example of a law enforcement officer. If you are pulled over, you are more likely to comply when an officer who is Tall, with broad shoulders, and has a deep voice tells you to do something as opposed to someone who does not have those qualities. My point is commanding respect is easier for men. Gaining compliance is easier. And we naturally associate those “masculine” qualities with authority. Feminists might disagree but IDGAF. So as a teacher, it is easier to gain respect, and compliance when you are a male teacher compared to a female.

Fin.

Thank you for reading. I will do a better job of keeping my tone consistent moving forward. Try to make my ideas flow more smoothly. And I will include sources of where I get my information.

Please feel free to share thoughts or leave feedback/criticism. I appreciate your patience. 😊