I’ve always thought that raising children is much like the process of teaching them to drive a car. At first, they need the full overview of road rules, functions of knobs and pedals, and then hit the road. Once there, the only way they can learn to drive is to control the whole car: gas, steering, brakes. If we keep grabbing the wheel, they aren’t learning. I always reminded myself that the ultimate end of the driver training is to hand them the keys and watch them drive off around the corner, without me. Somehow they need to learn everything before that day. It is frightening, but with trust, transferring knowledge needed to understand the process and goal, and lots of practice, it works.
Thanks for writing this! I rarely find someone with a view like this towards raising adolescents, and children in general. It was a very refreshing read and I cross-posted it, because its just SO spot-on! :)
An excellent analysis from a progressive educational leader! Hope this article make the progressive educators to introspect their strategies as educators. Under progressive education, the teacher is seen as a guide to help the students achieve their goals. In a way, children are dependent on adults in this model. Dr. Peter Gray writes: “As long as teachers believe that it is their task to make sure that children learn certain things, at certain times in their development, then no matter how progressive their thinking, they will have to use coercive methods to get children to do that”.
Progressive education still maintains the overall foundation of schooling which specifies that predetermined knowledge and skills should be forced into the child. Is there a way out? Yes. Self-Directed Education emerges out of children’s natural drives to understand themselves and the world around them. Under self directed education, it is the child’s brilliance, not a teacher’s, that enables excellent education. Education, in this view, is not a collaboration of student and a teacher; it is entirely the responsibility of the student.
I agree.
I’ve always thought that raising children is much like the process of teaching them to drive a car. At first, they need the full overview of road rules, functions of knobs and pedals, and then hit the road. Once there, the only way they can learn to drive is to control the whole car: gas, steering, brakes. If we keep grabbing the wheel, they aren’t learning. I always reminded myself that the ultimate end of the driver training is to hand them the keys and watch them drive off around the corner, without me. Somehow they need to learn everything before that day. It is frightening, but with trust, transferring knowledge needed to understand the process and goal, and lots of practice, it works.
Thanks for writing this! I rarely find someone with a view like this towards raising adolescents, and children in general. It was a very refreshing read and I cross-posted it, because its just SO spot-on! :)
An excellent analysis from a progressive educational leader! Hope this article make the progressive educators to introspect their strategies as educators. Under progressive education, the teacher is seen as a guide to help the students achieve their goals. In a way, children are dependent on adults in this model. Dr. Peter Gray writes: “As long as teachers believe that it is their task to make sure that children learn certain things, at certain times in their development, then no matter how progressive their thinking, they will have to use coercive methods to get children to do that”.
Progressive education still maintains the overall foundation of schooling which specifies that predetermined knowledge and skills should be forced into the child. Is there a way out? Yes. Self-Directed Education emerges out of children’s natural drives to understand themselves and the world around them. Under self directed education, it is the child’s brilliance, not a teacher’s, that enables excellent education. Education, in this view, is not a collaboration of student and a teacher; it is entirely the responsibility of the student.