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I have already been down a rabbit hole today. I was thinking of my favorite quote by Thoreau in “Walking:”“In Wildness is the preservation of the World.” I started re-reading "Walking," and I stumbled upon an AMAZING essay by Carol Black, the writer and filmmaker who wrote The Wonder Years.
She talks about education reform and the institutionalization of children. As a child who struggled and was over-medicated, I really enjoyed this read and thought I could share.
A quote: "Some of our children, it turns out, are more like pigeons and squirrels, and some are more like bears. Some of them adapt to the institutional walls we put around them, and some of them pace till their paws bleed. The bleeding of these children, if we listen, can tell us many stories about ourselves."
This is a great conversation, I've had a lot of time to think about how school really shaped us. It’s wild to realize how much control and conformity were part of our education system.
From a young age, we were trained to follow strict schedules, obey without question, and judge ourselves by grades and tests. It felt like we were being molded to fit a certain pattern, instead of being encouraged to explore our unique strengths and passions.
Looking back, I see how this stifled creativity and critical thinking. It wasn't about learning for the joy of it; it was about sticking to the script. This kind of control can have long-lasting effects, making it tough to shake the feeling that someone else always knows what's best.
Talking about this is so important. It makes us think about how we can change education to really value curiosity and individuality. I was really disobedient and skipped a lot of school. I wanted to be free to do what I wanted. I also did not have an issue with learning. I loved history the most. I loved to be creative too. School felt more like a prison, than a place to grow and learn.