So, what would the high school curriculum of your Republic look like?
(PLEASE DON’T MOVE THIS TO MUNDANE BABBLE. IT’S ONE OF THE OLDEST PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS - THE EDUCATION OF THE YOUTH. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE) ok pleading over.
I would present math and history together. I would offer a class on rhetoric or composition basically I would have kids write letter asking for something, write typical nonfiction reports, and write fiction. I would offer the history of the local community. I would have a history and economics class. I would have my science classes centered around ecology. (Not so much for hippie reasons, but what better way to learn about chemistry and biology than to see it in action) I would also do a half semester chemistry class called “See What Happens When…” I would reintegrate physical education with emphasis on stretches and body weight exercises (I would let the less physical kids run the show and try and lead them to realize physical health is not a talent but a habit or a skill that improves with practice) I would allow the individual selection of art electives - graphic arts, theatre arts, literary arts and musical arts. I would also allow gunfights in the schools, just kidding.
all the above plus civics and vocational-technical classes, wood shop, metal shop, upholstery, automechanics, general contracting, computer programming, word processing… stuff the students could use to be productive for themselves…
(not to mention a class in removing blood stains after said gunfights)
Education is very much a concern of philosophy. Education should not teach you what to think but how to think.
Sorry, just obeying my categorical imperative. I kant stand to see something in the wrong place. It just makes it easy to find something if it’s in the right drawer. And no, i don’t check my watch at street corners…
My sister went to a great school founded by Rudoph Steiner. They spent about two hours a day on ‘academic’ subjects like maths, and the rest of the time was spent developing each child on a individual basis. They also had lessons in traditional crafts like leatherwork, woodwork and pottery. The school was fairly self-sufficient and grew their own organic vegetables etc. The kids could help with this if they wanted and were also taught to cook. There was no TV, but there was a big piano and a lot of books.
I think that’s about as sensible an education system as you can get. No real curriculum, as each child is different.
My sister is 30 now and is an artist. Many of the values she learned at that school are at the heart of her lifestyle now.
The trouble with the National Curriculum is the way subjects are taught. For instance, when I was younger I hated languages because I didn’t understand the way I was being taught. It didn’t seem sensible to force me to memorise words and repeat them parrot-fashion. There was no context (especially in Latin, which I wanted to love but never quite did). But as an adult, I can learn in my own way and have found a natural aptitude that I had no idea existed.