The Industrial Age School System: Conformity Over Creativity
The industrial age school system, set up by the Rockefellers, was designed to create good factory workers. The goal was to teach children to sit down, shut up, consume, conform, and apply. This system has gotten out of hand, with teachers and educational institutions focusing on hitting quotas, numbers, attendance, and test scores rather than developing well-rounded, thinking human beings.
The current educational system often fails to nurture imagination, innovation, and intuition in children. This is evident when comparing the outcomes of children who attend alternative school systems, such as Rudolph Steiner’s Waldorf School System or Montessori schools.
The Waldorf School System: Developing the Whole Child
The Waldorf School System focuses on developing the child holistically:
- 🌿 In kindergarten, children play with wooden blocks and natural fibers, and learn to plant food in the garden, gaining a visceral experience.
- 📚 By seventh and eighth grade, children have an abstract experience about planting seeds inside books.
The Danger of Prioritizing Linguistics and Mathematics Over Imagination
When schools prioritize linguistics and mathematics over imagination during a child’s critical developmental years (up to age 11), it can shut down their creativity. The human brain has two hemispheres – one for logic and one for creativity. Overemphasizing logic-based subjects can hinder the development of the creative hemisphere.
Ivy League schools and Silicon Valley startups actively seek out Waldorf students due to their strong problem-solving skills, rather than their ability to memorize facts and take tests.
Ideologies Antithetical to Reality: Confusing Children
Some schools are promoting ideologies that go against biological reality, such as the notion that men can have babies or that there are multiple genders. These ideas can confuse children and make them more easily controlled.
The Importance of Guiding Children Naturally
As parents, it is crucial to guide children naturally and avoid “farming them out to the state.” The goal should be to raise live, thinking individuals who can think for themselves and are not easily controlled by others.
Additional Facts and Research
- A study by the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education found that Waldorf students outperformed their peers on standardized tests, while also exhibiting strong social and emotional skills (Friedlaender et al., 2015).
- Montessori education has been shown to promote academic achievement, social development, and creativity in children (Lillard & Else-Quest, 2006).
- Research suggests that a balanced approach to education, incorporating both logic-based and creative subjects, is most beneficial for child development (Immordino-Yang & Damasio, 2007).
