philosophygirl78
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Yes! But I fear that the only way that would work would be to start at a few select schools, the ones most likely to be motivated to accept a new program and then create a school that only teaches self education. Absolutely no subject content whatsoever; no history mathematics, science or anything else. All testing to be done by anonymous outside sources. Basically, just teach students how to teach themselves and be extremely rigorous about it. Many of the subjects you and others have mentioned would be appropriate but everything, everything, with the intent that when you emerge you are not "educated" (none of us ever will be) but you know how to further your ongoing education, an education that will never end. This would deliver the best result in our fast changing world. It would, hopefully, create objective minds (which our schools seem bent on destroying). And it would set an example to be followed more or less by other institutions.
Of course the students would hate it ... we'd have to do something to make it seem like there was some immediate gratification in it. Most professors would be utterly unqualified to teach in such a program but hopefully it would attract those who were. My most challenging dream would be to create some sort of gentle weeding out process and then accept students with all types of scholastic records. Some couldn't continue to stay but it would be different enough so that maybe kids who didn't have a rigorous formal education up to that point could flourish. I'd like to say that only the basics of reading and math would be necessary but that might be a bit utopian. The idea is that a wide variety get a shot, but if you don't make the grade , out you go.
There's a documentary about the Danish (I believe) school system, where the children only sit in the classroom for 3 hours a day and play outside physical games and activity the rest. And no homework. They produce the highest scores in all of Europe. When the reporters asked the educators why they do it this way, the reply was, 'we want the children to be happy. then, they will succeed.'...