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Why Education Has Failed (Part 1)

I used to think that a good educator was someone who had undergone a lot of training, who had a massive arsenal of teaching tools and methods that can be utilized to bring to life the most boring lessons and the most bored students. 

In the many years that I was a teacher, I spent countless hours on self-improvement. I joined Toastmasters to improve my public speaking skills. I attended talks by good speakers to study their techniques. I would even record lectures and practice delivering jokes and amusing anecdotes.

I envied a colleague, at that time, who was a chemistry teacher. On the first day of class, she would mix two chemicals and produce a small explosion, guaranteed to turn the head of even the most disinterested teenager in this startling display of fire and smoke. But I taught English Literature, so instead of fireworks, I had a little comedy routine injected into my orientation of the class rules and objectives. That usually brought chuckles all around.

When we were taught how to make lesson plans, the lecturer wanted us to account for every minute that we were in the classroom. We were not to waste a single minute on “free time” — we had to make sure that there were various activities to fill in even the smallest gaps of time so that the students would “always be learning.”

They, and I, could not have been more wrong.

Our current model of education sees children as empty vessels waiting to be filled with the “knowledge” that educators have, or as aimless little creatures needing an educator to guide them and show them the way.

That is why education today focuses so much on the educator, because the belief is that the educator holds the key for learning. The more that an educator can do — the more techniques, the more lessons, the more strategies — the better he or she is as an educator.

This is why education is failing — our model is wrong.

Children are not empty vessels nor aimless brats. They come into being with boundless energy, unabashed curiosity, and a seemingly limitless amount of persistence all dedicated to one thing — to understand themselves and the world around them. That is why they like to touch everything, to smell things, to put things in their mouths. That is why their eyes grow wide when they see a new creature, a lizard or a frog. That is why their ears perk up when they hear a strange sound, perhaps a doorbell or a trumpet or a piano.

As they grow older, they continue in this quest. They learn how to talk. Some learn how to read. They learn to converse and interact with other people. They play games. They run around. Their bodies get stronger and they have better control over their limbs and fine muscles in their fingers. They ask endless questions and like to try out new things.

Email me at andy@freethinking.me. View previous articles at www.freethinking.me.

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Identity and Purpose

The most empowering feeling a person can have is when they have found their purpose and identity. “Know thyself,” cried the ancient philosophers and this rings as true today as it did a thousand years ago. To the person who has found purpose, waking up is an experience of joyful expectation instead of tired drudgery. Conversations are engaged and meaningful instead of mindless chatter. Actions are purposeful and reflective instead of routine and robotic.

It stands to reason then, that the younger one finds one’s purpose, the better it is for that person as it would mean more years of meaningful living instead of just passive existence.

Yet the sad reality in our modern society is that we force our children into the institution of school where they spend more than a decade of their lives. School is hardly a place for self-discovery, but of repression and conformity. Students are expected to wear uniforms, follow prescribed haircuts, do their homework, copy their notes, and pass tests. Every hour has been neatly scheduled for them including breaks and meal times. Lessons and tests have been meticulously planned by their teachers, principals, superintendents and experts — everyone except the students themselves who have no say at all whether they find their lessons interesting or even relevant to their lives. We teach them to march to the beat of our drums instead of helping them find their own beats, their own rhythms.

What, after all is a high grade? What is a 95 or 99 or even 100? More often that high grade is awarded to a student who conforms best to what the teacher wants, who expresses ideas that the teacher wants or expects to hear.

This is not the fault of any one teacher nor any one principal. In truth most teachers and principals have high ideals and noble visions, yet they are constrained by the system, whether they realize it or not. But there is little they can do. A single worker or even a few of them in a bottle-producing factory has very little power to change the factory’s output. They may be able to change the shape or color of the bottle, but the output will still be bottles. They cannot make the bottle factory suddenly produce cars, no matter how good or noble their intentions are.

The education system is one big, complicated mess of machinery. Throw in the bureaucracy and politics of government and it becomes an even bigger mess — the proverbial Gordian knot of education. There is no fixing it. No untangling can be done. One cannot work in the system and expect to make a difference, not even a dent or a scratch.

The only way through the knot is to cut it, not to reform, but to replace it altogether. Our educational system has been built on a philosophical foundation that is either wrong or outdated. It is time to build from the ground up with the correct principles that prioritize the learner’s self-discovery and self-direction over the agenda of those in power.

We owe our children this much.

Email me at andy@freethinking.me. View previous articles at www.freethinking.me.

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The Freedom Academy (Part 8)

How is the Freedom Academy different from homeschooling and unschooling?

Let’s discuss homeschooling and unschooling separately. First is homeschooling. It’s like school but you do it at home. There is usually still a curriculum which one gets from a homeschooling provider that may or may not be accredited by DepEd. One or both parents act as the teacher, helping the child along with their lessons which they basically go through at their own pace. The parent(s) may also opt to throw in additional lessons not in the standard curriculum but which they think will be interesting, helpful or meaningful for their child (e.g. painting, dancing, stargazing, cooking, carpentry, etc.).

Many homeschooling parents have also formed support groups to help each other and they sometimes plan activities where their kids can interact, play and learn together.

The difference between Freedom Academy (FA) and homeschooling is mainly the absence of a curriculum. We do not pretend to know what is best for your child. We do not force any curriculum on them. Rather, we trust that your child will naturally pursue what is interesting for them, will learn in their own style and in their own pace and in their own way. We provide the necessary support and resources for them to maximize their pursuit of their interests. But the rest is up to them. They are free to decide how they want to spend their entire time at FA. They can play, read, talk to friends, build things, sit and reflect, and even do academic stuff like study math if that is their desire. 

Unschooling is more unstructured and free — it is as the name itself suggests — the absence of school or the removal of school. Unlike homeschooling, there is no fixed curriculum. In practice, parents would usually try to fill in the child’s schedule with what they think is important for them to learn, not necessarily academic in nature, or if the parents are more liberal, they will just allow the child to do what they want the entire day. Some unschooling parents also join homeschooling support groups and activities.

Unschooling is closer to the FA philosophy and belief that every child has a natural capacity for learning, self-development and self-determination. The difference is that FA provides a community for the child that is run by a democratic process. The idea that their voice matters, that their opinions can be heard, and that their vote counts is a powerful experience that will enhance their sense of social responsibility and morality. 

Being in FA also allows the child to develop away from the constant supervision of parents, which is important in letting them exercise independence and building their own social and interpersonal skills in order to thrive in the community. 

These are important skills that they will carry all the way to adulthood.

Email me at andy@freethinking.me. View previous articles at www.freethinking.me.

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The Freedom Academy (Part 7)

Can kids handle this kind of freedom? Won’t there be chaos?

This idea comes from a misunderstanding of freedom as being able to do whatever you want. Freedom is not just that, however, because just doing whatever you want in a social context, would lead to conditions where you would no longer be free. 

For example, a boy who thinks he can just punch anyone in the face would sooner or later face a bigger or stronger boy (or even girl) who would also harass him, thus limiting his freedom. A girl who thinks she can just take someone else’s property would also find that others would do the same to her.

In order for a community to survive and live together harmoniously, there have to be agreements on how people ought to behave towards each other. With freedom comes a certain responsibility to honor those agreements and respect the rights of others, as long as one still wants to be a part of the community.

In our current society, these agreements are what we have made into our laws. As long as we adhere to those laws, we are pretty much free to do what we want, to pursue our dreams, to do business, arts, to practice a profession, and so on. But the moment we break those laws, there will be consequences that limit our freedom to some degree. A serious crime would lead to a graver consequence like imprisonment which is a severe limitation of freedom.

Now, how does all this apply to the Freedom Academy?

The Freedom Academy is first and foremost, a community — it is composed of kids, teens and adults sharing a common space for a few hours each day, and the foundation for behavior in that community is democracy — the idea that each individual has a certain amount of power over how the community is run and governed.

There are rules in this community, just like in any democratic society, but the difference between the rules here and the rules in any other school is that here, anyone in the community can propose to change any rule, or add a rule, or delete a rule and if that proposal gets a majority vote, then it becomes an official rule. In a traditional school, adults make and enforce the rules. Kids have no choice but to follow.

Another key difference is that here, it is not just adults enforcing the rule, but the kids themselves will form a committee to investigate and decide on consequences when the rules are broken.

In this context, kids will very quickly understand that if they want to continue staying in this community and enjoying their freedom, they must also learn to take responsibility for their actions and make sure to respect the rights of others. Otherwise, they may be asked to leave the community. And then where will they go? Back to school? I think not.

Email me at andy@freethinking.me. View previous articles at www.freethinking.me.

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The Freedom Academy (Part 6)

If there are no tests, homework or grades, how do we know if the kids are learning anything?

Let me answer this with a story.

Back when I was teaching at a Chinese high school, I had a student who had very high grades in her Chinese class. There was a poster on the bulletin board in the hallway and it was written in Chinese. So I called over this student and asked her to tell me what it was saying. She just smiled and said, “I don’t know, sir. I can’t read that.”

I said, “Why not? You have the highest marks in Chinese class.”

She replied, “Oh we just memorize that stuff. We don’t really understand it.”

This simply illustrates that even with test and grades, we still have no clue if our kids are really learning anything, or if they are able to apply what they have learned in useful and practical ways.

Forcing kids to do homework and take tests and get high grades is not a reflection of learning but a reflection of our need to validate their learning according to our standards. I am not saying though, that this is without merit. Certainly this type of instruction is useful in higher education or professional education when a person has decided to pursue a certain field.

I wouldn’t, for example, willingly place myself under the care of a medical professional who did not pass certain standards of medical practice, who would call themselves “doctors” merely on their own say-so, and without really earning that degree.

However, to place certain standards of children who did not willingly agree to be judged under those criteria, and then to grade and classify them as having passed or failed those standards, is a wrong way to measure learning.

Learning is the learner’s business, not the teacher’s. True learning happens when children choose to engage in areas and activities that interest them, and when they are given as much time as they want to perform and master them. 

And you don’t really need grades to know if they have learned anything. In real life, we don’t go around asking to see people’s grades to see if they know anything. We talk to them, we observe their attitudes, and we look at their work output.

That will be pretty much how it works at the Freedom Academy.

Email me at andy@freethinking.me. View previous articles at www.freethinking.me.