A mirror reflection would be nice

I love hearing people well-versed in their fields. The last two days I was able to hear a couple of people who have done original research in their chosen fields. Lovely. They are comfortable in the information they have mulled for a while, and they know how to talk to others about it. The lecture format is not always the best method of delivery, but I am old-world enough that I can still listen and appreciate the format. There's something about experience in a field coupled with familiarity of facts that makes for a stimulating time.

One of the experts focused on teaching that responds to students' whereabouts in a subject area and spoke of types of teaching to use with a variety of student reactions to the different types, like innovation and reflection. The other expert actually said there are no "gifted" students. That was brave considering the conference was one that GT/AP teachers had to come to for renewing their certifications. She spoke of Socratic questioning and student independence from a teacher as well.

Of course, the type of teaching these two scholars spoke of does work with students who are motivated to learn. Power to them. Advocates for the downtrodden always bring up that there are different strokes for those who were not as privileged, those who "struggle." Perhaps the government should relinquish its stand on mandatory education. People in 2100 will more than likely look back at this time in history and refer to it as the time of the failed mass education experiment. The sooner we admit that, the better. 12 years of daycare for children who grow to adolescence without any responsibility should make us think about doing away with their socialized pampering. It probably won't happen because the children who graduate under this system will not have the skills to critically think through whether or not their experience of school actually benefited them.

With all of this system's best efforts, still only 28% of the population at large finish college. Let's look in the mirror on this! The two experts mentioned above talked of methods that work for anyone who is interested in learning. Obviously 72% of the population have other designs for their lives. What about a conference on what 72% of the population might want to better their lives? I don't think Socratic questioning is helping the lady at the salon to win her Golden Scissors award or the realtor to make the million dollar club or the soldier to defend his life in the streets of Baghdad. Of course, these 3 professions have a "company" retrain them in the particular arts and skills they will need in the shop, the residential world, or the streets in which the IED or bullet rules. So what good really did the 12 years of daycare serve?

What a deal. A kid past 14 gets free meals, A/C or heating, and a crowd of people to disappear into. Who wouldn't want this Peter Pan world where no one really ever grows up until that word "graduation" comes around.

I don't mind hearing about how teach students of any age who are engaged in learning to begin with. Bring on more of them. Let's just be honest about the rest of the situation, face up to its failure, and move on toward a new, better-suited situation for our society. The sooner, the better.