Educating Germany
15/09/07 @ 12:00:01 am , Categories: Experiences The carnival dedicated to the International Freedom in Education Day (in Germany) starts with a translation of an open letter from "Chili". This submission was received anonymously through a trusted source and originally written in German. The translation was supplied and only altered where the request was made to check the words adequately reflected the meaning or where minor corrections improved readability.
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Dear Mrs Schavan and Regional Ministers of Education There is something which I don't understand, and I hope you can help me with it. Surely you are very busy and have little time, so I'll get to the point at once. Right now a museum is being built in our kitchen. The brand new little children's armchair is „an old children's chair, Mama, ok?“. The little curator is busy bringing more items, then drawing a museum sign and taping it to the window, facing outwards. Later, after the museum has become less interesting, a fish food store opens in our living room. Imagine the creativity of this free flowing mind! We don't have fish, we are not in contact with people who have fish, there is no family affinity whatsoever with fish. And then he opens a fish food store in the living room with a generous range of products. A pile of chestnuts serves as food for the larger fish, „such as pike or so“. „Is this food (the marbles from the ball track) adequate for gold fish?“ asks the client – i.e. me. „It's for any kind of small fish.“ Later in the afternoon he comes running inside from the building wholesalers (the sandhill in front of the house), out of breath. He is speaking in sentences of about 25 words, including correctly applied relative sentences. He is (correctly) using grammar forms of which I – in spite of owning a university diploma – don't even remember the name of (and I was good at grammar!). Second Subjunctive, I think. While jumping on the trampoline he calculates numbers up to ten, and he is glad to present his knowledge of English to the American relatives. [Not translated] Do you have some knowledge of the latest brain research? If so, you'll be aware of the fact that the brain learns best when relaxed and self-motivated. Maybe you also know that not only facts but most of all states are learned. Meaning that a brain which repeatedly learns the state „boredom“ will generate this state over and over again later in life. What a waste in a country that prides itself of belonging to the intellectual world elite! I remember well that I have been bored in school for 13 years. 13 useless wasted years in which I could have done so many interesting things. My friend said: „Oh, I wasn't bored. I always found something to do.“ Great solution, eh? So once I am stuck in jail, I can as well learn to be a locksmith... Well, I'll tell you openly. I do not want my child to have the necessity to be bored. I do not want him to be forced by pressure and fear to learn comma placement just at the time when the teacher has it on her plan either. I wish for him to continue learning with delight and wide-eyed wonder and to discover innovative solutions with joy and creativity. That's why I am asking you: WHY will this child be forced to school next year? He is doing excellent as it is. We are doing excellent. He is free, he is happy, he has friends, he has 1000 topics of interest – and he is learning with rocket speed. Don't give me the „how will the poor child learn to write“ routine. You don't believe it yourself that school attendance is necessary for this, do you? „You are eating a sandwich – describe its way through your body“ (biology, 3rd grade when I went to school) would have been easily answered by him a year ago. If you dare to have a look beyond the German nose you will see that free learning children usually perform with intellectual excellence. [Not translated] Honestly, do you (you as government) forbid driving, because there are people who do it drunk or drugged? Do you forbid nuclear power plants because there is one or the other disturbance here or there (which by the way could prove way more relevant for society than a few kids who don't get to learn sex education)? Well, as I said. I don't get it. Why shouldn't we just continue living as all involved are happy? Ah, well. Yes. Mandatory school attendance. The children who otherwise wouldn't have a chance. Has mandatory school attendance ever saved these children? Don't we have a hooky problem anyway? Even with mandatory school attendance? Don't we have illiterates anyway? Let me suggest a shockingly simple solution. Dispose of mandatory school attendance. Overcome your fears. Focus on education like the European neighbours do and make history. Free education for a free country. With regard to the legal situation in Germany I prefer to stay anonymous but nevertheless send you best regards! |
Scatty over at Green Fields and Open Horizons opens her post:
Most Germans, even the majority of those who identify with the principles of family life that home educators embody, perceive us as the lunatic fringe. Although these people are also often stay-at-home mothers (and sometimes fathers) who are closely involved with their children, they cannot identify with those of us who would choose to avoid the school system.
What struck me as a call to action is her closing comment:
We home educators are like canaries in a coal mine. The manner in which a government treats home educators is an indicator of its respect for families and its attitude to educational freedom in general.
Isn't this scary in light of the persecution German home educating families have faced? What is happening to FREEDOM?
Jen has joined the Carnival with her post (see comments) at Diary of 1. [Thanks for your continued support and encouragement!]
There are others I am sure that as a result of the lack of Freedom in Education have chosen not to openly post here. I respect that decision.
I have been told another few submissions/link posts are coming so please bookmark and check back again soon.
Please feel free to use the comments below to add your experiences/ thoughts/ encouragement etc
Comment feed for this posthttp://www.diaryof1.com/2007/09/15/bonhoeffer-and-gatto-on-education/
Thanks!
jen
Prussian teaching paralyses the moral will as well as the intellect.
This can be said in general of schooling throughout the world, can't it? The school is taking over the role of the parents in areas formally considered taboo and relating to morality and standards - sex education and values education for example.
Can parents of schooled not see what is happening? Is there not a point at which the question of how can I change the world comes up and they see the answer within the sanctity of their home?
One child at a time.
When did they choose to hand the responsibility of the holistic education of their children to the State?
Have we continued to believe the misnomer that it takes a community to raise a child (from the outside in) when society today is far removed from a time when this was positive? Isn't raising a child from the inside out a mandate to true freedom?
