My Experience:
When I was a child, I remember always feeling like I was different than the other kids, especially when it came to school. I got held back in kindergarten because I wasn't 'socially' ready for first grade. I spent the rest of elementary school in special Ed classes because I supposedly didn't read well and was behind on math too. Truth was I loved math and I loved to read. I was just never interested in the books they made us read and their teaching styles bored me. In fifth grade we moved to a town that didn't have regular school, but an IB school.
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is an international educational foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and founded in 1968. Although widely seen as an alternative to Advanced Placement [AP] classes, IB’s different for a few reasons. For one, IB is offered at the elementary and middle school levels. AP is not. What’s more, IB can be the curricula for a handful of classes (like AP) or it can be an intensive school-wide program (unlike AP). These schools are also EXPENSIVE. I remeber my parents always had difficultly enrolling us because the cost was around 100 dollars per student.
This type of schooling was must harder than regular school, but I excelled quickly there. Their classes were more interesting and the teachers paid extra attention to the way you learned. They often group each grade according to their style of learning so each class was structured based and the learning style of the class. By the begin of eight grade I was in advanced courses. Unfortunately, my family made the decision to move back home, thus I went back to public school.
I slowly began to hate school. The courses went back to being boring, and I found myself relearning things I learned years before in the IB school. This didn't bother me, what did was the quality of this education I was receiving. I left the IB school in the middle of eight grade at which time I was in advanced biology. When I went back to regular school they didn't have room for me in the advanced class so I got stuck in the basic class. At the end of the year we started to study genes, which already knew a lot about. The teacher of this class was teaching the class that XX is male and XY is female. The cheese literally fell of my cracker. I notified the principle that she was teaching us the wrong information and her reply was "Shes the science teacher, im sure she right." I tried to shake it off. Then she marked answers wrong on my test I knew were the right answers. I notified the principle and asked she had another science teachers opinion, but nothing ever came of it.
High school wasn't much better I had all A's and B's and never had to put much effort into school, but I hated it. It was dull and thoughtless. I also was having a hard time fitting in and was labeled a 'misfit'. Then I got pregnant at 16 and was labeled a high risk pregnancy and had to travel two hours a way once a month for the doctor. The school began to get angry with me because my attendance was dropping but never my grades. By the end of my first semester of tenth grade I had missed to many days and was told I need to redo that semester, despite having a steady 3.2 GPA. At that point I dropped out and went about getting my education on my own.
Now that my daughter is about to hit school I find myself reflecting that period of my life. I have come to conclusion that school is actually hazardous to our health. Children are born naturally ready to learn. Before school, kids learn simply because it fun, and they WANT to learn. There is very little reward in learning before a child is sent of to school. When they get to school this ideas is changed. School is not fun to a young kid who wants to be outside exploring and because its not fun they fell forced to learn. Which is why rewarding good work is a common practice in school. Instead of having their own will to learn children are taught that the will to learn should be for a reward. The students that do the best in schools often have numerous 'rewards' to show for it.
The social workings of modern schools is also troubling to me. If you watch modern day Tv shows about school you find that there is rarely ever anything about the actual school itself, but the social issues that arise while in school. In reality its not much different. Every school I went to had 'clicks' or groups of kids that only hung out with other kids in that group and there was rarely ever a day that drama of some sort happened, resulting in fights and arguments. To me this is disastrous not just for kids but for our future. These issues last well into our adult lives and is why our society functions the way it does. Thats why we discriminated people who don't fit in our 'group'. This is also why we all work for a reward. We have been programmed to do so.
To me school is less about education and more about creating a working population. I was great at school, but I was also VERY poor. Collage would be something nearly out of reach. Even if I did get grants and scholarships, I would still spend most of my life in debt, which is what the working class is all about. Create debt in order to insure that this person is always in the working class. So unless your a trust fund baby, your working your whole life for that one reward you might never receive. Imagine all the smart people that are in low paying hard laboring job,s that should be in neuroscience saving lives. Education has become a tool that cooperation can use to create more consumers. Don't believe me? Then why are school days as long as work days? The government justifies all this by telling us OVER AND OVER, how important education is. You can't go anywhere without education. True, but unless this education core is built on reward and punishment, society won't function in their favor.
Finland Schools:
When I was a child, I remember always feeling like I was different than the other kids, especially when it came to school. I got held back in kindergarten because I wasn't 'socially' ready for first grade. I spent the rest of elementary school in special Ed classes because I supposedly didn't read well and was behind on math too. Truth was I loved math and I loved to read. I was just never interested in the books they made us read and their teaching styles bored me. In fifth grade we moved to a town that didn't have regular school, but an IB school.
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is an international educational foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and founded in 1968. Although widely seen as an alternative to Advanced Placement [AP] classes, IB’s different for a few reasons. For one, IB is offered at the elementary and middle school levels. AP is not. What’s more, IB can be the curricula for a handful of classes (like AP) or it can be an intensive school-wide program (unlike AP). These schools are also EXPENSIVE. I remeber my parents always had difficultly enrolling us because the cost was around 100 dollars per student.
This type of schooling was must harder than regular school, but I excelled quickly there. Their classes were more interesting and the teachers paid extra attention to the way you learned. They often group each grade according to their style of learning so each class was structured based and the learning style of the class. By the begin of eight grade I was in advanced courses. Unfortunately, my family made the decision to move back home, thus I went back to public school.
I slowly began to hate school. The courses went back to being boring, and I found myself relearning things I learned years before in the IB school. This didn't bother me, what did was the quality of this education I was receiving. I left the IB school in the middle of eight grade at which time I was in advanced biology. When I went back to regular school they didn't have room for me in the advanced class so I got stuck in the basic class. At the end of the year we started to study genes, which already knew a lot about. The teacher of this class was teaching the class that XX is male and XY is female. The cheese literally fell of my cracker. I notified the principle that she was teaching us the wrong information and her reply was "Shes the science teacher, im sure she right." I tried to shake it off. Then she marked answers wrong on my test I knew were the right answers. I notified the principle and asked she had another science teachers opinion, but nothing ever came of it.
High school wasn't much better I had all A's and B's and never had to put much effort into school, but I hated it. It was dull and thoughtless. I also was having a hard time fitting in and was labeled a 'misfit'. Then I got pregnant at 16 and was labeled a high risk pregnancy and had to travel two hours a way once a month for the doctor. The school began to get angry with me because my attendance was dropping but never my grades. By the end of my first semester of tenth grade I had missed to many days and was told I need to redo that semester, despite having a steady 3.2 GPA. At that point I dropped out and went about getting my education on my own.
Now that my daughter is about to hit school I find myself reflecting that period of my life. I have come to conclusion that school is actually hazardous to our health. Children are born naturally ready to learn. Before school, kids learn simply because it fun, and they WANT to learn. There is very little reward in learning before a child is sent of to school. When they get to school this ideas is changed. School is not fun to a young kid who wants to be outside exploring and because its not fun they fell forced to learn. Which is why rewarding good work is a common practice in school. Instead of having their own will to learn children are taught that the will to learn should be for a reward. The students that do the best in schools often have numerous 'rewards' to show for it.
The social workings of modern schools is also troubling to me. If you watch modern day Tv shows about school you find that there is rarely ever anything about the actual school itself, but the social issues that arise while in school. In reality its not much different. Every school I went to had 'clicks' or groups of kids that only hung out with other kids in that group and there was rarely ever a day that drama of some sort happened, resulting in fights and arguments. To me this is disastrous not just for kids but for our future. These issues last well into our adult lives and is why our society functions the way it does. Thats why we discriminated people who don't fit in our 'group'. This is also why we all work for a reward. We have been programmed to do so.
To me school is less about education and more about creating a working population. I was great at school, but I was also VERY poor. Collage would be something nearly out of reach. Even if I did get grants and scholarships, I would still spend most of my life in debt, which is what the working class is all about. Create debt in order to insure that this person is always in the working class. So unless your a trust fund baby, your working your whole life for that one reward you might never receive. Imagine all the smart people that are in low paying hard laboring job,s that should be in neuroscience saving lives. Education has become a tool that cooperation can use to create more consumers. Don't believe me? Then why are school days as long as work days? The government justifies all this by telling us OVER AND OVER, how important education is. You can't go anywhere without education. True, but unless this education core is built on reward and punishment, society won't function in their favor.
Finland Schools:
School should be a place that nurtures "critical thought, creativity, self-initiative, ability to learn on one’s own." Instead, evidence shows most students are "burnt out" by the time they reach high school or even middle school, and many of them feel increasingly negative about the subjects they're being taught. But it doesn't have to be this way. If children were allowed to learn the way they naturally do—remember that before reaching school age, they've taught themselves to walk and talk, among other things—then school could be joyful rather than punishing. In fact many countries are changing their school policies to just that.
Finland is one of the first countries to successfully adapt a better education system for their students. Here is some of the things they are doing.
The Finns seem to do exactly opposite the growing U.S. education agenda:
The Finnish curriculum is far less 'academic' than you would expect of such a high achieving nation. Finnish students do the least number of class hours per week in the developed world, yet get the best results in the long term. Students in Finland sit no mandatory exams until the age of 17-19. Teacher based assessments are used by schools to monitor progress and these are not graded, scored or compared; but instead are descriptive and utilised in a formative manner to inform feedback and assessment for learning. Great emphasis is put on pupil and teacher trust and well-being. Outdoor, practical learning opportunities and healthy related physical activity sessions are a regular feature in the curriculum: helping to maintain a healthy body and mind.
Finnish schools receive full autonomy, with head teachers and teachers experiencing considerable independence when developing and delivering their own individual curricula: suited to their setting. Combinations of alternative pedagogic approaches, rather than mere instructional methods are utilized by the teachers. The pedagogical freedom experienced facilitates greater creativity, pro-activity and innovation. This naturally allows a greater degree of individual emotional well being, that no doubt plays a role in fostering positive learning role models and environments: positively shaping the minds of teachers and pupils alike.
The Missing Link:
Finland is one of the first countries to successfully adapt a better education system for their students. Here is some of the things they are doing.
The Finns seem to do exactly opposite the growing U.S. education agenda:
- Finland does not give their kids standardized tests.
- Individual schools have curriculum autonomy; individual teachers have classroom autonomy.
- It is not mandatory to give students grades until they are in the 8th grade.
- All teachers are required to have a master's degree.
- Finland does not have a culture of negative accountability for their teachers. According to Partanen, "bad" teachers receive more professional development; they are not threatened with being fired.
- Finland has a culture of collaboration between schools, not competition. Most schools, according to Partanen, perform at the same level, so there is no status in attending a particular facility.
- Finland has no private schools.
- Education emphasis is "equal opportunity to all."They value equality over excellence.
- A much higher percentage of Finland's educational budget goes directly into the classroom than it does in the US, as administrators make approximately the same salary as teachers. This also makes Finland's education more affordable than it is in the US.
- Finnish culture values childhood independence; one example: children mostly get themselves to school on their own, by walking or bicycling, etc. Helicopter parenting isn't really in their vocabulary.
- Finnish schools don't assign homework, because it is assumed that mastery is attained in the classroom.
- Finnish schools have sports, but no sports teams. Competition is not valued.
- The focus is on the individual child. If a child is falling behind, the highly trained teaching staff recognizes this need and immediately creates a plan to address the child's individual needs. Likewise, if a child is soaring ahead and bored, the staff is trained and prepared to appropriately address this as well.
- Partanen correlated the methods and success of their public schools to US private schools. We already have a model right here at home.
- Compulsory school in Finland doesn't begin until children are 7 years old.
The Finnish curriculum is far less 'academic' than you would expect of such a high achieving nation. Finnish students do the least number of class hours per week in the developed world, yet get the best results in the long term. Students in Finland sit no mandatory exams until the age of 17-19. Teacher based assessments are used by schools to monitor progress and these are not graded, scored or compared; but instead are descriptive and utilised in a formative manner to inform feedback and assessment for learning. Great emphasis is put on pupil and teacher trust and well-being. Outdoor, practical learning opportunities and healthy related physical activity sessions are a regular feature in the curriculum: helping to maintain a healthy body and mind.
Finnish schools receive full autonomy, with head teachers and teachers experiencing considerable independence when developing and delivering their own individual curricula: suited to their setting. Combinations of alternative pedagogic approaches, rather than mere instructional methods are utilized by the teachers. The pedagogical freedom experienced facilitates greater creativity, pro-activity and innovation. This naturally allows a greater degree of individual emotional well being, that no doubt plays a role in fostering positive learning role models and environments: positively shaping the minds of teachers and pupils alike.
The Missing Link:
Almost 7,000 persons aged 12-25 from Australia, Cameroon, Canada, India, Thailand, Ukraine, the U.K., and the U.S. took part in the study that included surveys, focus groups, and in-depth interviews. The sample represented a broad range of educational and socioeconomic backgrounds, and every major religion as well as Paganism, Sikhism, Native or Traditional Spirituality, atheism, agnosticism, other religions, and those who did not identify as religious.
What they found strongly suggests that a spiritual development process exists that transcends the boundaries of culture and religion and that does not necessarily require engagement in religious practices. For example, approximately 64 percent of the sample indicated that they were actively pursuing spiritual development without strong adherence to a religious path—with more than half stating that they had grown in their spiritual identity in the last two years. Their main means for spiritual growth included creating positive relationships through prosocial (kind, helpful) beliefs and actions, discovering meaning in life, practicing mindfulness, and aligning values with actions. Findings also suggested that the majority of young people would welcome the opportunity to explore the topic of spirituality in a safe, caring, and non-judgmental setting.
Spirituality is a belief in a purpose higher than yourself, it doesn't have to be attached to a particular religion. When students explore and act upon issues of social justice, ensuring that all creatures are respected, cared for and can meet their basic needs, then this is also spiritual, in that their connection is to something larger than themselves. Its a inescapable topic. If we tell kids that we can't talk about it because it offends others, they WILL NEVER, feel okay about talking about it. We need to learn how to talk about it reguardeless of the religion. Most wars are because of political or religious disputes. If we knew how to talk about these things with other maybe we wouldn't be so hostile about our beliefs. This is the missing link in our schools. We all know that even after childhood we have the need to search for some form of spiritual truth. Its just that the sense of wonder that comes with this subject gets violently striped from us as children because of school.
If we want to change our future we must first, look how the future grows up. If we continue to raise children that grow up out of aliment with themselves, we can't go back to being a spices that is in alinement as a whole. I encourage parents to be a active part of their child's education. Talk to them about school get to the bottom of how they feel about it and why. Maybe you relate to your child's struggle, maybe you don't, whats important is taking charge and filling in the missing pieces of your child's education.
Have a beautiful day!!!
What they found strongly suggests that a spiritual development process exists that transcends the boundaries of culture and religion and that does not necessarily require engagement in religious practices. For example, approximately 64 percent of the sample indicated that they were actively pursuing spiritual development without strong adherence to a religious path—with more than half stating that they had grown in their spiritual identity in the last two years. Their main means for spiritual growth included creating positive relationships through prosocial (kind, helpful) beliefs and actions, discovering meaning in life, practicing mindfulness, and aligning values with actions. Findings also suggested that the majority of young people would welcome the opportunity to explore the topic of spirituality in a safe, caring, and non-judgmental setting.
Spirituality is a belief in a purpose higher than yourself, it doesn't have to be attached to a particular religion. When students explore and act upon issues of social justice, ensuring that all creatures are respected, cared for and can meet their basic needs, then this is also spiritual, in that their connection is to something larger than themselves. Its a inescapable topic. If we tell kids that we can't talk about it because it offends others, they WILL NEVER, feel okay about talking about it. We need to learn how to talk about it reguardeless of the religion. Most wars are because of political or religious disputes. If we knew how to talk about these things with other maybe we wouldn't be so hostile about our beliefs. This is the missing link in our schools. We all know that even after childhood we have the need to search for some form of spiritual truth. Its just that the sense of wonder that comes with this subject gets violently striped from us as children because of school.
If we want to change our future we must first, look how the future grows up. If we continue to raise children that grow up out of aliment with themselves, we can't go back to being a spices that is in alinement as a whole. I encourage parents to be a active part of their child's education. Talk to them about school get to the bottom of how they feel about it and why. Maybe you relate to your child's struggle, maybe you don't, whats important is taking charge and filling in the missing pieces of your child's education.
Have a beautiful day!!!