The Toxic Culture of Education
The Mission News: October 20, 2017
“Kids who are in school just visit life sometimes and then they have to stop to do homework or go to sleep early or get to school on time. They’re constantly reminded they are preparing for real life. While being isolated from it.” -Sandra Dodd
News that matters
➜ A new study led by researchers at the University of Nottingham and University of Turku suggests that adults may be mistaking signs of normal immaturity in younger children as symptoms of ADHD. According to Kapil Sayal, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry:
“Parents and teachers as well as clinicians who are undertaking ADHD assessments should keep in mind the child’s relative age. From an education perspective, there should be flexibility with an individualised approach to best meet the child’s needs.”
➜ In 2013, a new type of influenza virus, called H7N9, was identified among poultry. As of this July, 1,600 people have tested positive for the virus and of those infected, 40% have died. According to researchers, H7N9 is likely to continue to mutate as it infects humans, increasing the virus’s ability to pass from person to person… 😷😷
What we’re reading
The End of School: Reclaiming Education from The Classroom is a compilation of Zak Slayback’s essays, articles, and thoughts about school. Zak is an entrepreneur, Ivy League drop out, and our very own Chief Mindset Officer. This book offers perspectives on:
- The Purpose of Education
- The Purpose of School
- The Reality of School
- Different Types of Schooling
- The Effects of Schooling on Your Future
- How to Reverse the Negative Effects of Schooling
- How to Take Control of Your Education Outside of School
- How to Succeed Without a College Degree
- Entrepreneurship vs. School as the Ideal Education
This is a thought-provoking book that parents, teachers, students, and recent grads can all benefit from reading.
What we’re listening to
Here are this month’s top podcasts! The list includes classics like The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe and new discoveries like The Vanished, a podcast about missing persons.
What are your favorite podcasts? Let us know which ones we should listen to next month by responding to this email, leaving a comment on the article, or hitting us up on social media. 🎧👂
What we’re watching
Here is a teacher’s perspective on the state of education. From the video:
“And when everything is failing, guess what we need? New textbooks, new workbooks, new resources, new training, accountability systems, new schools, private schools, charter schools. And who is it that creates all of these things that all the sudden we need? Our supervillain: private education companies. The only way to feed a business model in this toxic culture of education is to preputate a picture of failure… From a one-day, one-shot, 4-hour, computer-based test, the future path of a student is set, an academic identity is established, and a message is delivered loud and clear: either you can or you can’t make it.”
Today’s Top Stories:
Originally published on our M-F Newsletter.
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