in the mid 19th century school building architects and educational system designers, collaborating across (at least) the English-speaking, French-speaking, and German-speaking worlds intentionally designed buildings, schedules, classrooms, and “lesson plans,” with the goal of turning children and adolescents into zombies. Thanks to Google Books, you needn’t even take my word for it, all their old books are now available everywhere, and they will tell you how just about everything we do in the traditional school is designed to turn “wild” “sub-human” “children” into passive, compliant, workers to fill the factories and office blocks of New York, Chicago, London, Manchester, Berlin, Frankfurt, Paris, et al. Passive, compliant workers who would know only how to work and consume, and thus, not revolt, expect better, or resist military conscription.

If that is what we still want, all we need do is continue to do what we have always done. If our goals are different, there is NOTHING about the way we run most schools which should continue unchanged.

I want to know how they are thriving. What do they do on a day-to-day basis that helps keep them optimistic, and moving forward? How do they define thriving? Is it feeling good now, or maybe believing that their current situation will lead to later improvements in quality of life?

I’d want to ask them what helps them thrive, and what, if anything, hinders them? What makes it a good system for them? How would the changes we want to see impact on that?

Because if we know what works for them, can we build on it so the system works better for more of its users?

Sorry for the late reply Tomaz – Hope these ideas help with your wrangling

Go Ricky! I’m sure that’s not the first time I’ve said that.

Why do we so often use labels in education, (maybe read life), when we too often forget that the labels only exist in the paradigm we situate them. Change the point of focus and suddenly we can see things completely differently, (or better still we even recognise things we’ve been blinded to otherwise).

Well done on celebrating Ricky’s awareness building, (not to speak of the others in the room and beyond). Great read again Tomaz as these stories need to be told far and wide. Thanks for sharing.

In the late 19th century a radical and expensive idea, public education, transformed the life opportunities for many children and communities. Literacy improved and so did our democracies. I would argue that everything is not OK at the moment and we need some similarly radical re-envisaging of how learning is supported, in our communities, if our civil society is to be nurtured. I suspect that many do, as you suggest, flourish in our current system but year after year, Australian society becomes less equitable and opportunities decrease for the most disadvantaged. I would like to see a proper national debate about learning and schooling, the future and how we need to adapt. More of the same and a new curriculum, more suited to the 90s, are not the answers IMHO.

Apologies for the tardiness of my response Mr @lasic

The change that are most relevant are to stop trends:
- rise of the importance of standardised testing, sometimes even linked to teachers’ merit pay
- students increasingly vocal about the relevance of syllabus/curriculum
- speed of technological changes
- increased use of social media
- diminishing opportunities for work in ‘industrial’ fields
etc

Parents will be like you and me who’ll say, “we’ve managed well as products of the old system.”…and it’s true. At this point, it is good to say that education serves society and not just individuals. For instance, parents need to understand the nature of standardised testing and how these can be abused.

The world around us is changing. If we accept that a key purpose of education is to prepare our kids to become responsible adults (contributing to society, etc), then we must change accordingly. For example, turning a blind eye to social media is bordering negligence – kids are using it…it’s like giving kids keys to drive the car without all the lessons and practice they need to become competent. In fact, as far as SM is concerned, some kids “steal” the keys.

It is not just a question of thriving “now” (which is great) but thriving “after” leaving school.

I ‘wrestle’ myself because at some point I am expected to be certain, albeit imperfectly, always. I am bound by care for the kids and to lesser extent care for the field(s) of human endeavour I teach and talk about with the kids to do so.

It seems then we often suffer from certainty more than we do from uncertainty

To go back to your point Tomaz, what should you say to the student? I would say nothing at all. Congratulate the student on their fortune and move on. Of course school works for some, it is meant to (albeit in fairly divisive ways). I’ve always thought that one of the best things for a society would be letting go of certainty, that we have the answer to education for all. Ironic that as teachers we are expected, and often expect other teachers, to be certain.