Schools are the Problem not the Solution
Conservative and right-wing forces have busied themselves in recent years attacking the public school system. Progressive-minded people have responded by coming to the defense of the public system. That is a great misfortune, because our public schools are one of the most regressive forces in our society. By supporting school, as it presently exists, we are, in fact, making our work of transforming society all the more difficult. It is time to be realistic about the effect that our schools have on our children and our society.
Though schools are meant to promote learning, they are, in fact, one of the most effective tools in destroying the love of the learning. A long and dreary compulsory curriculum, the constant evaluation and the utter loss of freedom do just that. As children enter kindergarten they are anxious to learn and understand the world about them. These same students, a few years later, almost without exception, regard learning and reading as being boring and of no interest to them. The end result is citizens who are not interested in learning the facts that are relevant to important issues. Such people are not capable of taking on an active, meaningful role in a democracy and are inclined to leave issues to the “experts” – the voices presented to them by mainstream media – the very
