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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Sustainability and invisible structures

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  • From: Paul Kosuth <prkosuth@ll.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Sustainability and invisible structures
  • Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 08:06:34 -0500

regarding school and home schooling.

I teach at a private non profit school for kids with learning disabilities and my daughter attends and has always attend public school. Over the years I have had no real qualms with her public school education: I have found her teachers, for the most part, to be committed, approachable and honest. I also find them to be trapped in a system that demands that they churn out a certain type of student, teach certain types of curriculum primarily geared to the world of "work." This mindset comes, I think, from top-down: business world to politicians to laws to teachers. The teachers i think become a pressure point for education: its where a lot of it happens, and where a lot of blame gets placed.

I think that I had a decent grade school education till 1972, and a good high school experience and then into college and grad school. What is being asked of teachers and students today is far and away greater than what was asked of me. My daughter had a more exposure to informal statistics by first grade than I ever had. I think that public education does a decent job of creating a foundation. I think that this can be done in about 3-4 hours a day (like half day kindergarten used to be) but with the work world of parents, care givers, etc, kids need to be somewhere all day. I think that what really got me going and keeps me going are the intangibles that were created when I was young: getting into that big box of my brothers books (he was in the seminary for awhile: philosophy, the classics, foreign), going to the Chicago public library, hanging out in museums, fishing trips, starting to garden as an adult, still hanging out in the library when in college. This is what is needed; to create the intangibles with our kids while in education. As a teacher, I have so many students who just play on their game boy, never carry a novel with them, hate visiting museums, etc., and have grown up without those intangibles whose parents have left it all up to public education and every video game imaginable. I think every kid in the world is home schooled. How effective that home schooling is, is the issue. I agree that the exclusive home schoolers, for the most part, look really good. There is a huge network of cooperatives and home schoolers that I was unaware of and only became aware of recently. But it takes a devoted family, or family member to do this. Larger society doesn't support this I think.

Just some thoughts.

Paul K





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