The Lessons School Forgot. Steve Sammartino

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СКАЧАТЬ there is a good chance you are thinking I am anti-school. Nothing could be further from the truth. Education is without doubt the cornerstone of all the possibilities I've taken advantage of in my life, and probably in yours too. It's just that school is far too destination focused. Once we reach secondary or high school, our options become more and more narrowly focused. By the time we reach grade 8 we start making ‘career decisions' on which subjects we choose. Career decisions at a time when we still can't decide what we want to do on Friday night. If we stumble in a certain subject, we'll lose the opportunity to work through it. If we love a certain subject that happens to be less valued by the left-brain logic society, like art or drama, we'll be discouraged from pursuing it. If we fail in maths in grade 8, we won't be allowed to take it in grade 9, and if we don't have advanced maths how can we possibility go on to complete a reputable degree at university? If we change our mind on what path we want to follow in grade 11, we've missed out on the foundation years of subject X and we won't be allowed to change streams.

      So we are forced to choose our science, arts or humanities path when we are relatively young, long before what is legally regarded as the age of reason. We are quickly siloed into our ‘chosen' trajectory for the remainder of our secondary schooling. School shifts from general to specific learning very quickly indeed. We are no longer learning how to learn; rather, we are learning how to pass tests in certain subject areas. We memorise specific information, which entitles us to continue to focus on that subject at a higher level. The ultimate goal is to pass through the final gate to formal qualification.

      Let's say you want to be an accountant or an engineer – traditional industrial-era vocations. From grade 9 you will have taken the particular subjects that prepare you for this career. If you don't undertake the prerequisite subjects in your final years in school, you can't study for this career at university. If you don't have the university degree, you won't be considered by potential employers. It's equally frustrating if you become qualified in an area that doesn't turn out to be what you hoped for – just ask any lawyer you know. Most soon learn it's less about using the law to create a more humane society and more about nailing down every six minutes of billable time.

      Our subject choices also have the judgemental weight of society behind them. It doesn't take us long to work out where our teachers and colleagues place us in the intellectual hierarchy. The smartest kids with the most potential are those who happen to be good at maths and science, the most valued subjects in a left-brain, logic-driven society. A small step down the hierarchy are respected humanities such as finance, economics and literature, and of course the bottom of the hierarchy is reserved for the artsy types, widely regarded as the flunkies of society, who are lucky if they can eke out any kind of career using their talents. Kids are persuaded, falsely, that most artistic pathways have little economic value and are best left as something we do on the side, in a ‘post-success' environment. Which is ironic given how companies like Apple and Nike have risen above commodity-centric competition on the back of the artistic design of their products. In any case, why should we stop valuing given talents and passions solely on the basis of their limited economic potential? An economic limitation, mind you, that is quickly being reversed.

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