Are prisons BETTER than schools?
EDUCATORS BEWARE - this might be hard to hear.
In this week’s podcast, we are talking about something controversial but also something we feel passionate about, liberating children from being “caged in the classroom”.
Yeah, you read that right. Classrooms are like a prison.
In fact, some of the data and research suggested that actual prisons provide BETTER conditions than schools.
This seems like quite a polarising position to take and it’s especially hard to hear if you work with children within a classroom.
But in the wise words of Peter Gray Ph.D. Research Professor & Author of Free To Learn -
“Everyone who has ever been to school knows that school is prison, but almost nobody beyond school age says it is. It's not polite. We all tiptoe around the truth because admitting it would make us seem cruel and would point a finger at well-intentioned people doing what they believe to be essential. . .
A prison, according to the common, general definition, is any place of involuntary confinement and restriction of liberty. In school, as in adult prisons, the inmates are told exactly what they must do and are punished for failure to comply. Actually, students in school must spend more time doing exactly what they are told than is true of adults in penal institutions. Another difference, of course, is that we put adults in prison because they have committed a crime, while we put children in school because of their age.”
Offft! Gets you right in the heart, right? Because I too remember feeling the power imbalance at school as a student and I also remember feeling the misalignment as a High School teacher.
The simple fact is, the school system was originally designed hundreds of years ago to indoctrinate children and make them obedient. The school system was NEVER an evidence-based convention.
Quite simply, School is more about organising large groups of children in a cost-effective manner rather than nurturing the holistic needs of children’s education.
And although the way we talk about school has changed, the societal norms of school have not evolved with some people still believing it should be about what’s easiest for the adults in charge rather than what's best for children’s development and learning.
But there are still things you can do to help liberate children’s education and holistic needs within the school system.
You can advocate for your children to have Mental Health Days whenever they’re feeling down and need more joy in their life.
You can ask your P&C organise a loose parts playground space in your school for children to use during lunch break or class time.
You can have a permanent Outdoor Classroom area which is great for all types of lessons
You can have a “Messy Friday” Policy and encourage more unstructured play for children
You can ask P&C to let go of the uniform policy and let children ‘be themselves’ with their jewelry, socks, shoes and backpacks.
So, there you have it. Some real truths about schools that no one wants to talk about and a few ways you can make some ripples of change at your school.
And if you’re really keen to try something new, enrol in one of the many alternative education schools and programs…. or even create your own with our Your Wild Business course!
Anything is possible with a bit of passion and determination.
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