After My Piece on Education

One of the things I love about writing in general and writing a weekly article for a website is the discussions or exchange of ideas that come after or in response to what I wrote. I was a bit nervous writing about education, because while it is something I have grown passionate about, I have no formal schooling on the topic. I got my Master's in 19th Century British Literature. I got my Master's partly because I wanted to teach college (at the time I thought I'd go straight for the Ph.d), but mostly because I wanted to spend my weekends in bed in my pajamas reading books that only people in academe cared about. I took one class in pedagogy and sadly, it was rather a waste of time and largely based on the notion that if we just had students free write enough, they would learn how to write coherent paragraphs and papers and so on and so forth. I can't say my experience proved this theory.
        After my son was born, I started researching and reading up on education for his sake. Somewhere along the line I got as concerned about the bigger picture as I was about his education. I started talking to other parents, learned we're all worried about our children's future in the education system, no matter where we're living in the world. I also realized that having received a good education in the public school system as well as college and having taught, that I have high standards. After my education post, a friend of mine who works in education pointed out that the education and curriculum I hope my son to have doesn't exist anywhere in the world. Sadly, she is right.
       Singapore has high scores and is often referred to as having a top education system, but having lived there, I wouldn't put my son in Singapore's schools either. They're heavily focused on math and reading. The notion of the arts is one that is very young in the culture - all the museums are only ten years old. Granted, the country is only forty, but as a result, they are still creating their cultural identity. What they come by naturally follows most Asian cultures- math, competition, pushing children really hard, teach them to mind. Beginning in pre-school, children get an hour of Chinese a day. They place a lot of emphasis on teaching "real life skills"  which sounds like the toddlers learn to balance check books. Really, they learn animals, number, shapes, letters, but on a strict schedule. If at two, your child cannot identify an animal that starts with the letter A, expect a parent-teacher conference.  In many of the public schools, children are not allowed to ask questions. If a child asks a question, their parents are called because their child is being disruptive. Culturally, their strength is and what they bump their heads on, is doing things by the book, not cutting corners, following the rules.
        Western parents often scoff at the notion that Singapore children are not encouraged to ask questions. "How are they supposed to learn?" they protest and rightfully so. What I've come to appreciate about Singapore's system is that at least they are straightforward about this, so if your child is an inquisitive sort, they recommend private education. What I've noticed about Western parents - and schools - is that we say one thing and do another. One mother was so appalled when I told her about the no question thing, she threw a fit. Ten minutes later, she offered me a glass of water and got up to get me one from the kitchen. My son started to squirm in my lap because he was hungry and I started to nurse him. My friend's daughter asked, "What are you doing? Why is doing that?" (Illustrating nicely the lack of breastfeeding around the world but that's another rant), I started to answer when my friend poked her head out of the kitchen and snapped, "Did I just hear you be rude?"
      Alas, it is a sad truth about many parents and schools. We say we want our children to be curious, creative, and know that it's okay to express their emotions, but what we don't say is that most days, whether at home or in the classroom, it'd make our lives easier if kids didn't think for themselves, sat still, behaved, and kept themselves quiet. Ken Robinson asserts that schools educate creativity out of our children. I think he's right and I'd add that I think they also educate curiosity out of them as well.
        Anyway, my husband haven't decided exactly what we're doing for our son's education, except that we're considering all the alternatives before the public schools. In the meantime, I've enjoyed the conversations that have come out of my piece and discussing what we really want for kids. And Cathie Black's fate is in the hands of an Albany judge who's hearing 3 different lawsuits charging that state education Commission Steiner was wrong to grant Black her waiver - you know, the one that said while we require our education Chancellors to have Master's in Education, somehow we'll skip that part because of your publishing history (???).