I remember when our daughter was at senior school, we went for parents' day to collect her report and the English teacher was concerned. He sat us down and told us that our daughter was struggling because (wait for it...) - she thought too much. I was gobsmacked. For him, she needed to chill with the brain cells if she ever had a chance of passing. I think now, if I had to do the raising of kids all over again, I'd home school my children. The mental boxing that takes place on a daily basis in our schools is nearly criminal. I don't think I could allow it now, now that I know better.
Why do I say that? Because from day one our educational system does everything it can to stop a child from being creative. From standard one the process begins, the process of panel beating a creative being into uniformity. Pablo Picasso once said, "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once you grow up." Only the strongest can withstand the barrage.
Every child is creative. They are explorers. They want to take chances. They daydream. They are desperate to learn everything, to understand why things are the way they are. They follow their hearts. They experiment - sometimes they fail and sometimes they succeed, and each path teaches them something more. Learning is a magical, creative, exciting place when you're a kid.
But then you go to school. In school there's a right way for everything. There is always a right answer. No grey areas. Even a short story (something that should be allowed some freedom at the very least) is prescribed. Learning is what the teacher says is learning, not where your interests take you, not on some path of discovery decided by your own questions. Learning is what the syllabus says, what the textbook tells you. Wrong is bad- always. Failure is much, much worse. Avoiding failure is paramount, and the best way to avoid failure is to do ...
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