What should a school teach?
Geometry, algebra, chemistry? Shakespeare, anatomy, geography? Should academics focus on preparing kids for the demands of a competitive, capitalist economy, or teaching them to think in the abstract, to become philosophers and scientists? Should class time be spent instilling the discipline individuals need to succeed in white collar jobs-sitting for long periods of time, meeting deadlines, sticking to a routine-or should it focus on hands-on life skills, like plumbing and carpentry? Should children with special needs be integrated into "regular" classrooms, or follow individualized plans in separate spaces? At what age is it acceptable to stream kids according to academic ability? Should urban schools have different curricula from rural ones? Is it worth funding the arts and sports in communities where there is enormous societal pressure to choose and stick to a traditional career? Should schools in postcolonial societies give equal importance to indigenous languages, even though they hold less social currency? What is the connection between public education and public health, and how can one be used to improve the other? How should educationists address economic inequality in societies with multiple education systems affixed with enormously different price tags? What is the purpose of school at all, and should parents take the unschooling movement seriously?
I don't have all the answers, but I am on a mission to come up with a few. Join me as I sift through the latest research, anecdotes, changemakers' opinions and my own experiences to make sense of what education is and what it should be.
Geometry, algebra, chemistry? Shakespeare, anatomy, geography? Should academics focus on preparing kids for the demands of a competitive, capitalist economy, or teaching them to think in the abstract, to become philosophers and scientists? Should class time be spent instilling the discipline individuals need to succeed in white collar jobs-sitting for long periods of time, meeting deadlines, sticking to a routine-or should it focus on hands-on life skills, like plumbing and carpentry? Should children with special needs be integrated into "regular" classrooms, or follow individualized plans in separate spaces? At what age is it acceptable to stream kids according to academic ability? Should urban schools have different curricula from rural ones? Is it worth funding the arts and sports in communities where there is enormous societal pressure to choose and stick to a traditional career? Should schools in postcolonial societies give equal importance to indigenous languages, even though they hold less social currency? What is the connection between public education and public health, and how can one be used to improve the other? How should educationists address economic inequality in societies with multiple education systems affixed with enormously different price tags? What is the purpose of school at all, and should parents take the unschooling movement seriously?
I don't have all the answers, but I am on a mission to come up with a few. Join me as I sift through the latest research, anecdotes, changemakers' opinions and my own experiences to make sense of what education is and what it should be.
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