MaceyUK Posted June 2, 2016 Posted June 2, 2016 Hi all, I have just come off a marathon session of listening to early podcasts 1-160 and I have ideas whirling around in my head. I am a teacher and a housemaster in a boarding school. I really want to be better at my job and I am trying to come up with a framework that can enable young people to be happier and more fulfilled at school. I have written a set of questions and would appreciate any shared wisdom on any individual question or more if you're feeling like sharing. Why are so many young people unhappy? What happens to some young people that makes them happy kids? What do good parents do right? What motivates children? Are teenagers different? Are boys different? What are we doing wrong in education? What kind of humans does the World need and how can we go about developing the right kind of people? Thanks friends Macey
Anuojat Posted June 2, 2016 Posted June 2, 2016 I think stefan has had boatload of videos and interwiews on child psycology and education so mugh wanna start with those! As for the specific questions id just say that whilke i could go into detail about them i think other have already (people stefan interwiews) done great enough work on these. I think principles are important to keep in mind FIRST. Are the children here to serve you? Or you to serve them? If youre here to serve children then you ask what they want or dont want. You interwiew you evaluate yourself according to rationa principles and offer suggestions back and forth but always treat children like the most important customers in the world.
dsayers Posted June 2, 2016 Posted June 2, 2016 Why are so many young people unhappy? Violence. What happens to some young people that makes them happy kids? Lack of violence, threats, and neglect. Also keep in mind that many young people THINK that they're happy because they have adequate distractions/escapes. What do good parents do right? Negotiate with and nurture their children. This includes self-knowledge, which leads to choosing the right co-parent, and includes understanding peaceful parenting BEFORE deciding to have a child. What motivates children? Are teenagers different? Are boys different? I don't think this can be generalized in a meaningful way. What are we doing wrong in education? Violence. We have this archaic notion that education must be structured, uniform, and inflicted. While this has never been true, with the advent of the internet, it's embarrassing that so few people are willing to re-consider. It all comes down to job security, not what's best for the children/future. What kind of humans does the World need and how can we go about developing the right kind of people? Humans that do not speak the language of violence. What we can do is raise awareness, speak truth to power, and ostracize those who would use violence to achieve their goals. 1
shirgall Posted June 2, 2016 Posted June 2, 2016 When I was in school it was unchosen positive obligations that made me into a half-assed student. When I paid for my own classes, I was a little more interested, but even then I was seeking apiece of paper and not something real. Later in life, when I was on the hook for paying back my company if I did poorly or if what I learned was not something that could realize revenue, I was more interested, and I did so much better at it. So, I have a Master's Degree in something vaguely useful, but I consider all of my other education a incredible waste of time. Good parents spark curiosity and enable finding out more, and they do it by teaching about tools for handling knowledge. I knew far more about certain subjects than my teachers about Computer Science in high school and college. Individuals are motivated if they can realize their incentives.
MaceyUK Posted June 3, 2016 Author Posted June 3, 2016 Thanks for your very valuable contributions guys. of course you're all correct. It's about forcing people to do things that they don't see the point of. Anuojat, I am thinking about suggesting students pick their own teachers to develop a microcosm of a free market. ideally lessons would be offered at times outside the regular school hours too as I don't believe teenagers operate well before mid morning. We are providing a service but they are tied in and it is therefore prone to the usual problems inherent in a coercive system. Dsayers, we don't use violence in my school but we do have the threat of banishment which I think is in keeping with the ideas of liberty and society in general. Of course you're right about seeking distraction, we all do that when under stress of when discombobulated by modern life. Girls in my experience tend to have a will to please their elders more so than boys who have a will to please their peers. Teachers want job security and value it over providing excellent service. It's ironic that my co-workers think I am a bit crazy for espousing ideas about freedom and non violence as they don't equate government with violence and cannot get over their cognitive dissonance in this regard. I have to be careful when talking to anyone in education as the statist doctrine is deeply embedded and protected. Shirgall, I believe my experience of education improved as I had more and more choice but I have learnt more since the advent of the internet than at any time previously...it's all been fuelled by curiosity and the quest for truth. Individual realisation is a tough goal and maybe not available to all..whole new discussion right there. Anyway, I always seek to reduce the levels of coercion but I am constantly thwarted by the juxtaposition of a lack of student motivation being in part caused by the need for a framework. In time I would hope that we could have schools where the learning wouldn't be examined and schools would just be places to try out real world stuff to see what fits. An IQ test is pretty much the best predictor of whether someone is going to be able to do a job or not so we could save kids having to do a whole lot of boring and pointless stuff by using this marker. Any skill specific jobs can have a skill specific entry test and interview. Kids could leave school at 13 and be away on their journey.
Cuffy_Meigs Posted June 3, 2016 Posted June 3, 2016 In addition to the above, keeping your own children away from toxic environments and helping them find good ones helps to address your questions regarding happiness. This applies to school, home and elsewhere. An example of each from my own life. When my son was 8 he was scouted by a professional football club and commenced regular training and matches several times a week. Although it was a lot of hassle having to constantly drive him to training and matches, it seemed great at first. It gave him status among his friends and confirmed he was good at something. But before long he hated it. Stress was heaped onto the children and aggression, bullying, humiliation and even spitting were tolerated if not actively approved of. The response of most other parents was to tell their kids to 'man-up' and punch back harder. I regret not withdrawing him earlier. After that I took him to the local cricket club and what a contrast. Child friendly, family friendly and he pays attention because he wants to learn. He's 11 now, playing at a high level and is respected by both his team mates and himself. Instead of aggression and nastiness, kudos is to be had from helping the weaker players or reassuring anyone who blunders in a match that it was 'just bad luck' and not to worry. I made my own commitment by becoming a qualified children's cricket coach despite never having done anything like that before. If sport isn't the answer then surely every child has something they can do well and be passionate about. If you want them to thrive, help them find it.
gavstone21 Posted January 3, 2018 Posted January 3, 2018 As a current teen I just wanted to add something I found very motivating. Out of the many teachers I have had, I have had a couple good teachers and one really good teacher who really engaged me in the subject and made me very happy to do homework. That was my 7/8 grade Japanese language teacher. Despite the fact that the homework for language classes can be quite boring, riddled with simple grammar exercise and extensive memorizing, I was exhilarated to go home and do...homework. I always studied hard for tests and even did lots of extra written conversations and short stories. Even though yes I did enjoy the language, I honestly never felt the same way about language and upon some thinking about it, I realized I did not work so hard because I really liked the subject. So how was it possible that I did so well through the class? I am a post millennial and so I am surrounded by a mass amount of instant gratification mechanisms like porn, electro pop, and social media. AND that class was littered with instant gratification for my work. I got a "great job" for every page of homework I did. He gave me a grade instantly for everything, which I eagerly checked and got a shot of pleasure at the sight at a %100 or even a %150. I did extra credit because he would "compliment" me every time, and make me feel that millennial attributed word "special". There were online quizzes which were very instant flashes of dopamine. He would brag about my work to the class, and I ended up breaking records for tests. I needed his acceptance and approval. It grew into an addiction, and soon I found myself having hour long conversations with my "source" after school even on Fridays. I enjoyed my position of authority I received in the subject over the other students. I was a grade "A+" teacher's pet. I did not fit in with the students and they treated me like an adult. Nevertheless I had a crash afterwards and am extremely lazy like I was before the class. I don't know if constant approval can be a consistent method or even a healthy method, but I hope my experience as a student might be of value. Can the new generation's especial dependence on instant gratification be harnessed in a productive way? I don't know.
Jsbrads Posted January 5, 2018 Posted January 5, 2018 Children need boundaries, attention, affection every day. I think our society gets too busy, work too many hours and abandon our children in front of the “TV” too often. Absolutely agree that many teachers in the public system are horrible. But if a child has the right home environment they can survive some pretty shitty adults for short times. I had a horrible 2nd grade teacher, my mother pulled me from that school on the second week and placed me at a much better school a week later.
barn Posted January 16, 2018 Posted January 16, 2018 We aren't encouraging pupils to write essays that they truly embed their hearts in. Otherwise, all is working fine from the indoctrination perspective. (notice the lack of apostrophes prior, also I'm lucky to not be in the Royal 'we'... though, rather on the' poor' side of things)
meetjoeblack Posted February 27, 2018 Posted February 27, 2018 On 6/2/2016 at 3:32 AM, MaceyUK said: Quote Why are so many young people unhappy? They've been indoctrinated with cultural Marxist, victimhood, feminism, and are entitled as fuck. There is more depression, pressures through social media, the realization that a good portion of women are skiing down cawk mountain, are cratering their best years when thin/young/attractive. Are seeking to play homemaker and white picket fence when playboy stops calling. TV screams at how America is racist, demonizes white males, #MeToo + attacks on all that is masculine. The attacks on fatherhood. Need I go on? Quote What happens to some young people that makes them happy kids? Fathers in the household, a feminine/nurturing mother, solid socioeconomic status. family values, belief in God. Quote What do good parents do right? They are aware, set boundaries, offer solutions but, also let their children problem-solve helping when necessary. The parents are invested in self knowledge, exploring consciousness, and creating an environment to thrive in. Quote What motivates children? Are teenagers different? Are boys different? Children like to play. They need this aspect and component in their schools. Teenagers want to rebel, test boundaries, and its a part of life. Boys are being demonized in the school system, force medicated in a environment that is already hostile towards them. Dr. Helen Smith documented in her book the decline of male academics, about the school system that pedals to the girls, and there is no mitigating the facts. Young men are avoiding post secondary. Even more alarming is that, a significant portion of the teaching staff are women, many of whom are divorced, feminist, and don't like little boys. The same for social workers, daycares, EAs, and a variety of other areas of the system. A lot of boys don't learn by sitting still and being told to STFU. Quote What are we doing wrong in education? Jordan Peterson has a ton on this topic. Cultural Marxist comes to mind. Feminism. The pedaling to the girls. Boys have fallen behind the girls academically for over a half century. There are other ways to teach and to learn. Also, the push of education to get a job rather, the quest for self-knowledge, and to learn. The other comes naturally. The education system is failing by telling people what to think rather then learning how to think. This is not one and the same. I have learned more in two years from Jordan Peterson then I have from over a decade and half of government education. On 6/2/2016 at 3:32 AM, MaceyUK said: What kind of humans does the World need and how can we go about developing the right kind of people? Thanks friends Macey Kids need a teacher like yourself that is inspiring, is interested in self-knowledge, and willing to help motivate the youth who will be the future. Good for you for taking the time to be better at teaching and reaching your class.
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