Why it is not necessary and very harmful to send a child to our school. Funny statuses about school

It's a strange question... I'm rather perplexed why smart educated city dwellers, especially those who have reached career heights and material security, break their children, innocently imprisoning them for eleven years in this System.

Yes, of course, in past centuries in the villages, the Teacher was much more developed and financially secure, had a higher social position and level of culture than the parents of children. And now?

The nobles even then did not send their children to schools, they organized homeschooling ...

Why does a child need a school and why do parents need it?

It is very convenient for working parents to leave their child in a storage room with minimal supervision, consoling themselves with the fact that everyone does this. The position of non-working mothers with a wealthy husband, who is so stressed by their own children that they even give them away as an extension, looks more strange ... It seems that these children were born only as a way to provide for themselves financially, and if it were possible to send them to a boarding school without losing in money and public opinion almost all of them would have done the same.

The child almost never needs school. I have not yet met a single child who would want to continue going to school instead of the holidays at the end of October. Yes, of course, the child wants to chat or play with friends, but not to sit in the classroom. That is, if the child is provided with comfortable communication outside of school, attending school completely loses its meaning for the child.

School doesn't teach kids anything.

Now let's take a look at popular social myths that force parents to mindlessly mutilate their own children.

Myth one: SCHOOL TEACHES (gives the child knowledge, education)

Modern urban children go to school already knowing how to read, write and count. No other knowledge acquired at school during adulthood are not used. The school curriculum consists of an unsystematic set of facts for memorization. Why remember them? Yandex will answer any questions much better. Those of the children who choose the appropriate specialization will study physics or chemistry again. The rest, after graduation, cannot remember what they were taught all these dreary years.

Considering that the school curriculum has not changed for many decades, and the child’s handwriting is much more important in it than blind ten-finger typing on a computer keyboard, the school does not give the child any really useful knowledge and skills for further success in adult life. Even if we assume that it is this set of facts for memorizing a school subject that a child really needs so much, his can be given ten times faster.

What tutors do with success, teaching a child in a hundred hours what the teacher has not taught in 10 years and a thousand hours.

In general, this is a very strange system, when a thousand hours stretch over several years. Already at the institute, each subject is given in larger blocks for six months or a year. And a very strange method of teaching when children are forced to sit still and listen to something.

The experience of numerous parents of applicants shows that several years of studying a subject - more than a thousand hours at school plus homework - do not help the student to know the subject to the extent sufficient to enter a good university. In the last two years of school, a tutor is hired and re-teaches the child in this subject - as a rule, a hundred hours is enough to be among the best in the class.

I believe that a tutor (or computer programs, interesting tutorials with live text, educational films, specialized circles and courses) can be taken from the very beginning, in grades 5-6-7, without torturing the child, beforehand with this thousand hours :) And in the free time, the child can find something to his liking, INSTEAD OF SCHOOL.

School interferes with the socialization of children

Myth two: SCHOOL IS NEEDED for the socialization of the child

Socialization is the process of assimilation by an individual of patterns of behavior, psychological attitudes, social norms and values, knowledge, skills that allow him to function successfully in society. (Wikipedia)

What can be considered social success? Who do we think successful people? As a rule, accomplished professionals who make good money with their craft. Respectable people who do their work very well and receive decent money for it.

In any field. Perhaps entrepreneurs - business owners.

Top managers. Major government officials. Prominent public figures. Popular athletes, artists, writers.

These people are distinguished primarily ability to achieve your goals. The speed of thought. Ability to act. Activity. Strength of will. Perseverance. And, as a rule, they put a lot of effort to achieve the result. They know how not to leave things halfway. Excellent communication skills - negotiation, sales, public performance, effective social connections. The ability to make decisions instantly and act immediately. Stress tolerance. Fast quality work with information. The ability to focus on one thing, discarding everything else. Observation. Intuition. Sensitivity. Leadership skills. The ability to make choices and take responsibility for them. Sincere passion for your work. And not only in their own business - interest in life and cognitive activity they are often no worse than preschoolers. They know how to let go of the unnecessary.

They know how to find good teachers (mentors) and quickly learn what is important for their development and career.

They think systematically and easily occupy a metaposition.

Does the school teach these qualities?

Rather the opposite...

All the years of school, it is obvious that we are not talking about any sincere enthusiasm - even if the student manages to get carried away with a couple of subjects, they cannot be chosen by abandoning the uninteresting. They cannot be studied in depth within the framework of the school. Most often they are addicted outside of school.

Achieving the result is of no interest to anyone - the bell rang, and you are obliged to quit what you have not completed and go to the next lesson.

All 11 years of the child are taught that the result is not needed and not important.

Any business should be thrown halfway through the call.

Thinking speed? When targeting average or weak students? When teaching outdated inefficient methods? With complete intellectual dependence on the teacher, when is only the thoughtless repetition of previously voiced facts allowed? Student with high speed thinking in the classroom is simply not interesting. At best, the teacher simply does not prevent him from reading under the desk.

Strength of will? Activity? The system will make every effort to make the child obedient. “Be like everyone else. Keep your head down,” is that life wisdom that is needed for adult success in society?

High-quality work with information is not taught at school - most average students stupidly do not understand the text they read, they cannot analyze and formulate the main idea.

Choice responsibility? So students are not given a choice.

Negotiations and public speaking? Development of intuition and sensitivity?

Leadership skills? Ability to act? Generally not included in the program.

The ability to refuse the unnecessary is required to be replaced by the opposite ability to endure the unnecessary and useless for years.

Instead of an internal reference, children develop an emotional dependence on the often prejudiced opinions of others in the person of the teacher. This happens against the backdrop of complete control of the student. A child has no right to express his own opinion with impunity.

About the polls of good teachers at school, alas, one can only dream of. More often than not, few urban parents are less educated and less successful in society than teachers to prefer a teacher as a role model. FROM modern teachers there is a so-called "double negative selection": first, those who could not score in more prestigious university, and then only the most uninitiative of the graduates remain to work at the school, the rest find a higher paid and prestigious job.

In general, the only society that looks like a school in adult life is a prison. But it is easier for prisoners there than for children: they different ages, with different interests, they are not forced to do uninteresting business. There they understand what they are punished for. They will be released sooner than in 11 years, if they have not received a sentence for murder.

Is the school class a model of an adult society? This is not true - I personally do not live in a world where all people are of the same age ... Where they do not have common interests. Where I'm forced to submit to an underpaid loser. Wherever I was carried away by the case, after 45 minutes on a call, I would have to quit it without achieving a result and run to another room.

Adult people have a choice: what to do (and you can always change jobs and bosses), with whom to communicate, what to consider as a result, what interests to have.

In the modern world, the upbringing, education and socialization of a child is the responsibility of parents. Sending the child to school, we just settle down so that he does not interfere with us. Improving our life now at the expense of his future career and happiness.

Alexandra Savina

On the first of September, everyone reacts differently.: someone remembers the school with warmth, and someone rejoices every time that everything is finally in the past. But absolutely everyone at least once wondered whether the knowledge that we are given at school is necessary: ​​is it really important to remember the sequence in which the rulers succeeded each other in the era palace coups And how exactly does photosynthesis take place? But many would like to be taught in school for real useful things(instead of algebra, many of us would like to master budgeting, for example) - we decided to think about what should be added to the school curriculum.

sex education

We have already talked more than once about why sex education is in schools and why it is, and we are ready to repeat it endlessly. If we were taught in school about the principle of consent, boundaries, sexual integrity, body image, pregnancy, contraception and sexually transmitted infections, many problems (at least the HIV epidemic in the country and huge amount abortion as a means of "contraception") could have been avoided.

financial literacy

Yes, there are economics lessons at school - but sometimes it seems that they helped only those who later entered the Faculty of Economics. And if we still understand the difference between macro- and microeconomics, then what to do with our own finances is a mystery for most of us (can you understand the news about the reorganization of Otkritie Bank without a cheat sheet?). If school taught how to lead family budget, take care of your own savings and which bank to choose in order to receive benefits, and the deferred did not burn out, perhaps we would have earlier.

Fighting bureaucracy

Sometimes it seems that fighting bureaucracy is a lesson that will take a lifetime to learn, but it would be great if we came out of school already somewhat ready for battle. How to take meter readings (and what to do if you forget to do this for several months in a row)? How to register for "Gosuslug"? How to fill out an application for a passport? How to understand the receipt for the rent, what do the mysterious abbreviations HVS DPU and GVS DPU mean and how to turn off the useless radio point? What documents are needed to get into the maternity hospital and receive a pension? Everything has to be learned on its own.

Rhetoric and the art of debating

If you have ever been involved in a fierce discussion on Facebook (read, sracha), you know what we are talking about. Going outside the school, we suddenly find that almost no one around knows how to argue - and instead of a productive conversation, people prefer to assert themselves or discharge emotionally, completely not listening to the interlocutor. We all could do well to learn how to participate in the debate - and at the same time speak in public, so that presentations in front of colleagues do not turn into a nightmare.

Sports as fun

If you belong to that happy group of people who have never had problems with sports, and each lesson of physical education brought only joy, you are lucky - but, unfortunately, not everyone can boast of this. The practice of grading for whether you managed to jump a certain number of centimeters, run a kilometer in a certain time, or climb a rope, completely discouraged many of us from the love of training. Unfortunately, no one at school says that sports are first and foremost fun and enjoyable, and you don't have to fit into the norms to enjoy it.

Social skills and the ability to respect others

The school is supposed to teach us how to interact with other people (we are all the time in a team!), but in practice we get completely different skills - how to deal with bullying (and not become a victim of it) and how to stand out less so that school years went more smoothly. I would like to see school instead teach to respect the individuality and opinion of others, even if we categorically disagree with it - the lessons of the Fundamentals of Secular Ethics, unfortunately, do not help much in this.

Skills to help you survive

Of course, this item has nothing to do with academic knowledge - but it is definitely needed for later life even if you don't plan to leave the city. You never know when you suddenly need to make a fire or provide first aid - and it’s good if at the lessons of life safety they explained to you at least how arterial bleeding differs from venous bleeding. From school lessons we only remember that moss grows on the north side of the tree - but what to do with this knowledge is absolutely incomprehensible. That's how we live.

self defense

We really want self-defense skills to never be useful to anyone, but, unfortunately, life often turns out differently. A couple of self-defense lessons or Krav Maga instead of regular physical education would not hurt anyone - if only to just feel more confident.

Basic knowledge of psychology

If we learned the knowledge about our body and health with grief in half (although sometimes we try to treat it with miracle remedies), then it is more and more difficult with psychological health. Psychological disorders are still stigmatized, so many are afraid to talk about having experienced depression, bipolar disorder and other problems. It would be great if the next generation would treat this issue differently and understand that it is not shameful or scary to turn to a psychotherapist - we all need help from time to time.

Time management

It was easier to cope with the flow of things at school - even if you were used to staying up with lessons until late, you could be sure that at least during the day in life there is certainty: a clear schedule and a certain number of lessons in a strictly allotted time for them. With age, it became more difficult: the schedule was over and the working day had to be divided into blocks independently. It would be nice if we were taught this earlier.

Understand the political environment

Of course, we had social studies lessons, and we imagine that there are three branches of government in the country - but even now it sounds just as boring as it did at school. It would be much better if we were taught to navigate the political situation and critically evaluate the authorities and candidates for it - perhaps, then we would become more responsible in voting.

Programming

In 2017, it became finally clear that without coding knowledge today it’s about the same as without English knowledge: theoretically, it’s possible, but it’s better to know at least something, even if you are not a programmer or a translator. At a time when the main part of our editorial staff graduated from school, in computer science lessons it was possible to learn only the basics of QBasic (frankly speaking, not the most useful knowledge) and how to use Word - everything that is newer you have to learn on your own.

To study

The notorious “learning to learn” is probably the most useful skill that we should take out of school, but for some reason we cannot. In the era of Google, it seems that we can easily find anything - but we are completely lost when necessary information it doesn’t appear on the Internet, and we don’t take a critical attitude to what is. On the first of September, we wish you to master these skills on your own - even after school or in spite of it.

But the question remains: what are the options? And there are several options, from the mildest to the most cardinal:

1. The transition of the child to external studies.
2. Transfer of the child to another type of school (lyceum, college, alternative schools).
3. The transition of the child to home schooling without the need to pass exams and receive a certificate, or, simply, life with parents.

external student- this is the procedure for passing exams for courses of a complete secondary general education school for persons who have not studied in them (external students). That is, the child comes to school only to pass exams. How he did it and with whom - no one should worry. Minus: you still have to take exams according to the same school curriculum.

alternative school.
Unfortunately, in the post-Soviet space, even the very concept of “alternative school” seems blasphemous to our certified teachers, and examples of such schools can be counted on one hand…

Montessori school system , while being a licensed school system that treats students as "independent students", is nevertheless essentially a kindergarten system as it only covers children up to the age of six. Therefore, one can talk about the principles used in Montessori pedagogy, but not about real-acting schools...

Waldorf education system - also an "American" type school. It is the largest and fastest growing non-religious movement in the world with 800 schools in over 30 countries. It should be noted that, as such, there are no textbooks in Waldorf schools: all children have workbook, which becomes their workbook. Thus, they write their own textbooks, where they reflect their experience and what they have learned. Senior classes use textbooks in addition to working on the main lessons. Unfortunately, Waldorf schools can only be found in a few major cities(Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv) ...

School of Academician Shchetinin - a real community in the best context of this concept. Its difference from other schools is that it is located in the forest and, in fact, is a small state. Here you will also not find classes of the same age, textbooks and lessons ... The school is built on five foundations: the moral and spiritual development of everyone; striving for knowledge; labor (more precisely, love for labor in any manifestations - for example, all the buildings of the school were built by the students themselves); a sense of beauty, the affirmation of beauty in everything; and finally powerful physical training everyone.

The finds of Russian teachers include the school founded by Miloslav Balobanov School Park (Yekaterinburg). There are three fundamental positions in the Park: the rejection of mandatory training sessions, from uniformity in education, and almost entirely from grades. Ideally, no certificate, no grades are needed. According to Miloslav Balaban, the most the best document about education, the child would have a portfolio with feedback from all teachers about his progress. It's about success!

Despite many positive aspects alternative schools, it is impossible not to notice that the basic principles of their educational system are very poorly combined with the normative field of mass education. Therefore, as long as the current System exists, alternative schools are unlikely to survive in the form of an institution, but only in the form of a non-profit partnership that brings together individual entrepreneurs engaged in individual labor pedagogical activity (Article 48 of the Law "On Education"). This activity is not licensed and is not subject to numerous legal acts regulating the work educational institutions. Which, in principle, cannot scare parents much, since even now no alternative school issues documents on education of a state standard ...

Almost everyone understands that schooling does not guarantee comprehensive education, that a diploma (about higher education) does not guarantee a high position and a large salary, which is much more important to teach a child to find information when it is needed, and not to keep it in his head in large volumes. And many are ready to ensure that their child is not subjected to creative castration, and in addition, he also learns independence, send him to an alternative school ... But ...

Home schooling

But some parents go even further and, becoming in the eyes educational system heretics, they completely take their children out of school, that is, they transfer them to home schooling. What drives such rare crazy people who are not afraid to take responsibility for the life of their children completely on themselves, who are not afraid of paper and bureaucratic obstacles and the furious persuasion of others, not to mention relatives? Indeed, how can one live in our world without a school, acquire knowledge, learn how to communicate with people, get a good prestigious job, make a career, earn decent money, secure one’s old age… and so on and so forth?

We will not remember that in tsarist times home education was ubiquitous, we will not even remember that in Soviet times enough famous people studied at home. We just think about what the average person is guided by when sending their beloved child to school? The basis of everything is worry about the future. FEAR before him. The future in the case of home education is very uncertain and does not fit the pattern: school - college - work - retirement, where everything goes according to one set pattern.

But are you sure that this "established scheme" suits the child?

Conduct this experiment: take a piece of paper and write down 100 of your friends on it. Then call them and find out what education they received, who in their specialty, and then find out HOW LONG they worked in this specialty. Ninety-five people will answer that not a day ...

Q: Why leave school?
Answer: to get a certificate!

Question: why get a certificate?
Answer: to go to university?

Q: Why go to university?
Answer: to get a diploma!

And finally the question: why do you need a diploma if no one works in your specialty ?

I agree, until recently, if you did not have a diploma, you simply could not get ANY job, with the exception of a janitor, an elevator operator and a loader. There were two options: either become a loader, or ... an entrepreneur (which, according to the erroneous opinion of the majority, is not given to everyone). Business doesn't even require a degree. Enough ingenuity...

Today, thank God, the range of opportunities for non-graduates has expanded: most commercial firms no longer require a diploma of education, but a resume and portfolio, that is, a list of your achievements. And if you yourself have learned something and achieved something, then this is only a plus.

And what, tell me, can be learned if, instead of what the child is interested in, he is forced to study integrals and benzene rings at school for six to eight hours, and then do homework?

Now let's return to the question again: are you sure that this scheme suits the child? That he would prefer to spend 15 years on something that will not be useful to him, studying what he likes now, in order to become an expert in this in a year or three?

Our schools began to conduct the so-called "lessons of happiness" for students primary school. It looks as if Count Dracula organized courses in which he taught how to cope with pain. Children are very sensitive. They react painfully to injustice, disappointment and anger. And one of the main sources of unhappiness for the modern child is school.

I myself went to school reluctantly. All the lessons were boring, the same and useless. Perhaps something has changed at the school since then, but I don't think the changes are significant.

It's hard to study today. My 14 year old daughter is diligent and motivated but overworked. Undoubtedly, this is good in terms of preparing the workforce for the country. So we will soon catch up with Singapore with its intensive high-tech education. Such education pleases politicians, but does not make children happy.

At the same time, learning can be fun. Any school subject can be fun if the teacher wants to. But teachers are overworked and demotivated.

It shouldn't be like that. Schools need to change: raise teachers' salaries, reduce stress levels, encourage students to achieve high academic achievement and make their school life happy. And I know how to do it.

What needs to change at school

1. Prohibit homework until the age of 14. The idea that parents should be involved in the education of their children is not viable. Homework makes both children and parents unhappy.

2. Change study hours. It is better to study from 10.00 to 17.00 than from 8.30 to 15.30, because early rises are stressful for the whole family. They deprive children of energy for the whole day.

3. Physical activity should be more. Sports are good not only for health, but also for mood. But PE lessons are supposed to be fun. Every child should be given the opportunity to express themselves.

4. Increase the number of humanitarian items. It's interesting and broadens my horizons.

5. Find an opportunity for children to relax during the day. Siesta promotes quality learning. When I was a teenager, I was so exhausted by dinnertime that I only pretended to listen to the teacher, while I tried my best to stay awake.

6. Get rid of most of the teachers. This is the last and most radical point. Because a variety of virtual resources are available today, for example, video lessons from the best teachers. These are those rare specialists who can talk interestingly about logarithms and dried up rivers.

And school teachers will follow the children during classes, answer questions and organize discussions and role-playing games. Thus, the cost of paying teachers will be reduced, and interest in learning and involvement will increase.

Profiles are not a solution to the problem, they drive a person into several possible corridors, essentially not giving a choice. These corridors are formed on the basis of the day before yesterday.

Who said that it is chemistry and biology or mathematics and physics that need to be studied together, and not literature and biology, mathematics and languages? Who determined this combination of objects? Today there are many professions that require completely different variations of knowledge.

3. How to build a quality education system?

The child literally after elementary school it should be possible to choose what he learns at the basic level, and what subjects he wants to know at the advanced level.

But a basic level of- this is not a level for weak students and the same teachers. Strong teachers should work there, able to teach children a little, but the most important. A humanist must also know the periodic table, and a mathematician must write correctly.

The advanced level, in turn, does not simply mean the complication and training in university programs. This is an opportunity to go deeper, an opportunity to learn more, and it’s normal if on some topic it will be a level school curriculum, and for some - almost a graduate student.

Give the child the opportunity to independently choose from a huge layer of information the one that interests him most. He may not be interested in all biology equally, but it is genetics that inspires, say. Or is he obsessed with building human brain and longs for deep knowledge about it, or maybe wants to be a doctor and dreams of learning how to do blood tests. It is impossible to know everything very deeply, physically there is not enough strength.

4. Why is such a system difficult to implement?

The class-lesson system was not invented out of nowhere. This is a very convenient and cheap system of education, not focused on individual approach. It allows you to put one adult in front of a group of children and somehow teach everyone to read and write.

But modern world requires a transition from teaching simple literacy to developing learning, when a person finds the trajectory of his development. And this is a different approach and, of course, completely different costs. One teacher for 30 people is not enough here, we need tutors, coaches.

All this fundamentally breaks the usual system. This is a departure from the concept of a teacher - an employee, a teacher - an official; a departure from standardization, from the fact that all children should sit at their desks evenly. This is a complete revolution in the minds and huge material resources needed to translate such a system into reality.

But those countries that invest in such training will be far ahead. Every decade, the difference between countries that have found the opportunity to reform the education system, and those who have not come to this, will increase. We will definitely notice this.

Photo source: paig.com.au

5. Does a modern school need an assessment system?

Ratings now do more harm than good. But the rejection of them in itself is not yet a step towards the school of the future.

What is an assessment? This is when your result was compared with some single sample for all. Therefore, in the context of a conversation about developing education, it is not necessary to think about the importance of grades. The number of works performed according to the model should be reduced. I do not argue that there are situations when all students need to be driven out according to the general scheme and fast decision. For example, when obtaining a driver's license, some common to all standard exams.

But such a system cannot be applied to education all the time. It doesn't make any sense, it doesn't teach anything. The person who failed the task and received a C needs help in dealing with the mistakes and doing their analysis, and not the message that his work does not match the model.

6. What are the prospects for the modern school?

Schools are living phenomenon if they are allowed to develop and live, they will be able to adapt to the changing environment.

But schools in authoritarian countries have their breath cut off because authoritarian regimes are always nervous about the views of young people. The diversification of education is being destroyed, schools are not allowed to be different, and private education is being stifled.

My prediction is that "catacomb" schools will begin to develop in Russia and Belarus. Parents will formalize family education and unite to look for good teachers and teach children at the request of the time.

Of course, we still have a lot of those who are satisfied with today's school: after all, this is an excellent storehouse for children. But there are more and more conscious people who are beginning to understand that the education system in this form not only does not provide the necessary knowledge, but can also injure the child. These are the parents who will create alternative schools, and since this process is now as complicated and regulated as possible, we will have to create “catacomb” schools.

If they were given the opportunity to create alternative schools legally, of course, it would be better, gradually modern education, then it could be transferred to a public school.

But so far in Russia, for example, instead of diversification, there is bureaucratization; the so-called “optimization”, when schools are combined into huge complexes that cannot be managed. As a result, not the status of the teacher is growing, but the burden on him. And although teachers are gradually beginning to realize their rights, and society to understand the fact that humiliated person cannot be a good teacher, the situation with the education system is still not encouraging.

You can get acquainted with the views of Lyudmila Petranovskaya in more detail at Education Forum"ProSchool: It's possible!" , which will be held in Minsk on March 17. Experts and practitioners in the field school education from 5 countries of the world will gather at one site and discuss actual problems with Belarusian teachers and parents. You can register for the event

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