Schools and Prisons

Today I have come to the conclusion that schools are simply prisons for little children.

We take a large group of people (different personalities, cultures, vocabularies, expectations, skill levels, interests, strengths and weaknesses), put them in varying social situations, and expect each one of those people to work together, stay content, and come out of it having learned everything academic they need to know.

Add to this sub-par food, constant and frequent transitions, inadequate supervision, and no considerations for individual needs.

Now throw in people who have just barely begun learning appropriate responses to adversity and it's a wonder ANYONE comes out in one piece.

Millions of children go through school every year, every day, just fine. MANY children, less thought of, are doing it by the seat of their pants. And a small-ish chunk of them fail to. Failure is blamed on so many things: parents, personality traits, etc etc.

Instead of helping make "the system" work for people, people are expected to work in "the system." ALL people are expected to go through the SAME system. Should just anyone be an astronaut? No. Should just anyone be a neurosurgeon? NO. Is every person on this earth going to be a secretary or a corporate mogul? Psh. As if. So why should all children be trained to be those two things?

Should professional dancers be forced to study being an archeologist? Should an engineer be forced to study being an art restoration expert?

All I'm saying is this: everyone's made differently. We should not all be expected to be, learn, or act in the same way.