Some of the thinkers over on Luke's blog pointed out that specialization is actually crippling in today's world of fluid careers and multiple proficiencies, and that a base holistic education is crucial for adaptability in jobs.
I do not disagree with this. I do believe that the base holistic education should be acquired earlier than college, though. I also think we could learn more about a profession by apprenticing to a mentor in one year than we currently do attending lectures for four. In effect, I want to streamline the educational system, root out the redundancy and inefficiencies, and, while we're at it, toss out the people who aren't actually interested in bettering themselves. I believe that a community-based system of targeted learning would meet these goals.
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"I do believe that the base holistic education should be acquired earlier than college, though"
Well put. Frankly, I really think kids should be taught symbolic logic before/alongside basic arithmetic. Maybe a little after I guess, as basic logic functions are more or less arithmetic operations, combinations, etc.
That's a fantastic foundation for developing critical thinking in children.
Of course, that's something that would require a prohibitively massive reform of the education system. So maybe it'd be best implemented in the home--not homeschooling mind you, I take a slightly dim view of homeschooling, but as a supplement to public/private school education.
Homeschoolers, commence flaming me . . . now.
Ah, the home school dilemma...wherein parents, concerned that their children aren't learning anything in regular school, decide to do the job themselves. A noble cause, but ultimately flawed, and here's why:
1) Little to no interaction with other kids. It's just easier to stay home all the time. This can seriously stunt a child's social development.
2) Parents are not trained teachers, nor are they necessarily experts in all subjects that need to be taught.
3) There are things a child can get in a classroom that she can't always get from homeschooling, like field trips, foreign language, and access to different opinions.
Originally, my plan was to have the children (I always assumed I would have kids, but that's another story) go to school until they were in middle or high school, then take them out and homeschool. That would give them the social and linguistic background they needed to function in society, but would keep them clear of all the school violence. My plan, further, was to collaborate with a small group of parents (where I would find them, I'm not entirely sure), and we would all homeschool each other's kids, either taking turns in our homes or in a small classroom that we all chipped in for. We would wherever possible have guest lecturers come in, and we'd send our kids to college courses when they were in high school.
Given my penchant for procrastination and lack of organization (I still haven't finished reading Getting Things Done), though, plus the logistics of finding a good group of parents, I'm lately coming around to Mari's POV, which is: send them to private school.
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