Changing the system

My husband asked me how would I start to implement change in the school system because in reality you can't just close schools.

Unfortunately not everyone will homeschool...

I think that first I would lift the compulsary attendance law or at the very least raise the age. People shouldn't be forced to send their child away to an institution at a young age. Children should be with their parents for as long as they can.

I would do away with grades. When people are learning, they shouldn't be graded on their process. When you learn it for real, you know it, you retain it. Real learning is an individual process and is disrupted by schooling, teaching, grading and testing.

I would also do away with standardized tests or any tests for that matter for the reason stated above.

If school was more interesting and less rigid about pushing grades and tests more kids would learn and more would enjoy being there.

My ideal if you will... is schools being  run more like libraries or community learning centers.

They will be there for people who can't or won't homeschool.

Not compulsary, if it's so great people will choose to attend.

Facilitators who love what they know and want to share their knowledge could host *classes*

People of all ages could pick and choose what they wanted.

I disagree with age segregation. Age has nothing to do with knowledge. Everyone is individual and should be able to learn at their pace.

The whole system is outdated and obsolete as a way of learning.

If our tax dollars are going to be spent on *education* we should make it productive and useful and even enjoyable.

All the lawmakers are doing is throwing money at those with high test scores and doing nothing to improve the quality of life for these kids.

I don't expect to see much *change* in the near future. Many people write daily on the woes of public schooling but nothing is being done to change it.

I believe that too many are ingrained that school is the way and it's hard to get them to shift their paradigm's.

Sure it's nice to think of ways that the kids who have to be there could be nourished and not depleted but I don't know how to go about that.

Just putting some thoughts down, wish I could remember everything I said to my husband. He was playing devil's advocate and asking me lots of questions.

Keeps me on my toes :)