Dr. Helen writes about gifted kids in public schools:
It seems to me that the main source of socialization for many kids, especially smart ones in public school, is found in learning how to cope with the egos of teachers who can’t teach and other kids who are uninterested in learning anything beyond dominating the social hierarchy.
I don’t think we can discount the value of this lesson, because, let’s face it, one could easily say:
It seems to me that the main source of
socializationfrustration for manykidsadults, especially smart ones inpublic schoolthe corporate world, is found in learning how to cope with the egos ofteachersmanagers who can’tteachmanage andother kidsworthless petty coworkers, who are uninterested inlearningcontributing anything useful beyond dominating the social hierarchy.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. I often find myself thinking that 95% of the people who occupy professional positions aren’t really doing much beyond consuming oxygen and turning into more greenhouse gases. I think that’s a good lesson for kids to learn early, so they are prepared to deal with it when they get into the “real world”.
There is a difference between school and the corporate world. School is manated by law and a child has no choice except to go. Tortured or bullied, harrassed or bored to death at school? The law says just suffer along. In the corporate world, an adult can make the choice alone to change jobs–that is a huge difference and one that makes the comparison between the two incomparable.
I agree with you on that, which is why I support home schooling and school choice for people who choose to go that route. But I couldn’t help but feeling the bit of analogy when I read your post. What can I say, it’s been a rough week at the office :)