Sometimes I get pretty critical of government intrusions, ie, increased policing, and government institutions, ie, public schools. I want to say for the record that I absolutely have nothing against policemen or teachers. These individuals are often idealists, have nothing but noble goals and ambitions, and are grossly underpaid. They should be praised for everything they do and society is certainly indebted to their service.
Law enforcement is now, and always has been, a balancing act. Protect my freedom from others, but don’t protect me so much that I have no freedom. There’s no way around it. You’ve got to have police, and you’ve got to have courts (and you’ve got to have a military, as long as we have the concept of “nations.”)
Schools, on the other hand, are a different animal. Let me just put it bluntly: you don’t need them. I know, if you are a teacher, these are fighting words. I’m sorry. When I first met Heather, and she told me she was a tax accountant, the first thing I said was I hope you don’t have a job in a few years. She thought that was pretty funny. (And she hoped I was right, because she HATED being a tax accountant.) Back then, I was a big flat tax proponent. I still am, but I think taxes need to come from the amount of natural resources you use up, not your income. (Natural Capitalism)
Anyway, if schools are not needed, then what are the children going to do? How are they going to learn? As I’ve said before, kids are born learning machines. Hell, they teach themselves two of the hardest things I can think of: to walk, and to talk. As children get more and more ensconced in the public school structure, they lose their natural learning instincts. The idea is to somehow recover these lost qualities.
My plan is not totally thought out, but in general it’s a four pronged approach.
1) The schools are already built with taxpayer money. So, in order to continue to use these assets, my thought is to make them a VOLUNTARY place for kids to go during the day to take free “seminars.” The kids will be free to pick and choose what sounds interesting to them, and they will NOT be tested or graded.
2) Businesses will be, by law, open to any child. The point of this is to cover all those children that learn by watching and doing. These kids would be allowed to go to businesses and find out what goes on in there! The employees would be required to answer all questions and explain to the kids what they do, and what training is required.
3) There would also be a default place, if the kid had no idea where to go or what to do. These places sole purpose would be to help the kids figure out what they like doing and help them uncover their interests. Again, no pressure, no grading.
4) There will also be a transportation system that will allow any child to go to any seminar or business, safely. (school buses?)
Teachers: wouldn’t you like to have a class full of students that actually were interested in what you were teaching them? Wouldn’t you love it if the first question they asked was not “Is that going to be on the test?”
Of course, this will never happen. But it’s fun to dream!
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