From: PKat (pkat@home.com)
Date: Sat Mar 27 1999 - 18:39:29 MST
O. Razor wrote:
> >School like that require you to be a self starter and capable of
> >learning directly from a book....Young, smart people should never be
> >subjected to absolutely no structure. We blow things up.
>
> Although I have blown up my fair share of stuff, I wouldn't say that is
> was for lack of structure. I often find myself focusing more on
> strategies for passing my classes, getting the grades I want (and need),
> and just generally how to navigate through the all bureaucracy. I think
> that for some a structure-less environment would facilitate learning and
> productivity. Anyone who must be forced to learn doesn't really belong
> in school. Self starters of the world unite!
>
Each to their own. Though when I said structure I didn't quite mean being
forced to learn. I don't think that's possible. From my own experience
I've found that it's certainly easy enough to ignore assignments and mess
around when there are no teachers teaching, no goals to be met, and no
rewards for staying on task. I don't many people who will do something they
don't want to do if they don't have to.
I don't think my experiences come from lack of desire to gain knowledge.
I'm rather fond of learning, but given a choice, the topics that I would
chose to learn aren't necessarily the ones I need. I'd learn an obsolete
math trick over Government anyday <which is probably why I'm the only one of
my classmates that knows how to find a sqare root without a calculator.> I
agree school bureaucracy can often get in the way of learning. I feel that
I've learned a great deal in my local, public high school. Unfortunately, I
never paid much attention to my grades and as such am having difficultly
entering college, despite very high test scores.
If you can function in a no structure learning environment, more power to
you. To me, it felt like a year was ripped out of my education. Chalk it
up to intelligence if you wish; I'm above average, but no genius. These are
only my experiences with such a school as Bryan Moss originally described.
PKat
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