Unschooling

Credits go to Gabbi for sharing this video.

So this is probably one of my few posts not related to Canadian anything, but since it's about education it's going to make it onto this page.

I completely agree with nurturing creativity and not restraining kids because, as some psychologist or whoever has said in their study, it's the social norms and expectations that kill our future's creativity by forcing them into jobs that make them less human and more robotic.

This laissez-faire style isn't going to open doors for them. What child would have the sudden interest spark in them to learn calculus, or history, etc?

Basically my opinions echo with The Young Turks.

Also, by crippling the children's opportunities, they'll only slow down the society and make it less productive. They should be shown opportunities for the future careers, but not "forcefully". Those parents in the video act as if school is an army camp where people brainwash you, and kick you if you don't comply. School isn't like that. School is a place where you can learn your stuff, and if you don't understand, then you have at least one teacher who can help you through, or you can go to peer tutor programs.

In addition, these children aren't only missing out on the compulsory courses which make a citizen productive, but these children will be lacking in the relationships area. How will they know how to communicate with authority figures? Their parents don't believe in punishment or even discipline, not even the benefits of health. How will they be able to function in the workplace? Another issue is how they can communicate with their peers later in their lives. After a decade and some odd years of being spoiled and pampered to their every whim, they'll need to learn how to compromise and negotiate with their peers, which they have not learned in their past lives.

Final comment (or so), "I'll just pick up a textbook and I would learn." What? We aren't all "the Rain Man", and even the real Rain Man had to put in at least 10 000 hours of hard gruelling training over the course of a decade (~3 hours per day) to be able to memorize books right off the bat. If people could just "learn", per se, nobody would go to school. We would just read a book, throw it out and do our job.

Now why do doctors take at least 8 years to qualify in the medical field?

Even if I don't go so far as to talk about their relationships when they're adults, they'll be hit right in the face when they reach college or university when they lack those key subjects, or even how to behave around professors and other peers.

Oh America, what will we do with you?