Alternative Schooling and Parenting

I'm not a parent yet but greatly look forward to that day. My husband and I have agreed that if we fully subscribe to the libertarian non-aggression principal as we do, that needs to also apply to parenting. So lately I have been reading blogs about what are mostly known as "alternative parenting" styles such as Attachment Parenting and Peaceful Parenting.

Most of these blogs mention how difficult it can be to deviate from mainstream ways and opinions. In fact, these parenting styles go beyond deviation to flat out rebellion against common mainstream parenting. I completely understand how tough it must be when other parents on the playground expect you to go over to your kid and respond a certain way to whatever issue has arisen. When you don't, there are looks of pity, of surprise, of frustration and even anger. But one thing these blogs agree on is to keep the child at the center of the response, for it is about their growth and not what these lollygags think.

I believe this mindset is similar to that of public school, which is the primary (mainstream) way we do things in the US. Because public school is the mainstream, people raise their eyebrows when an alternative such as homeschooling or unschooling is mentioned. One reaction is that public school is something kids just have to get through-- after all "I did it," many adults lament.

As a teacher and avid reader of educational blogs and research, I can't subscribe to public school. It goes against what we fundamentally know to be true about how children learn. I recently started reading a fascinating book on neuroplasticity, The Woman Who Changed Her Brain, about a woman diagnosed with severe learning disabilities who developed brain exercises to rewire her brain. As a child, she struggled tremendously in public school. The thing that got her through was her impeccable memory, which she used to regurgitate information on tests while not understanding it at all. For her sake, I am glad she was able to do this. But any school system that allows children to pass without understanding the material in the slightest is obviously doing a disservice to those children and to society as a whole.

Neuroplasticity and even the entire field of neuroscience is largely ignored in public schools. On a positive note, the bridge between education and neuroscience is finally being bridged via a new masters degree known at Harvard as Mind, Brain, and Education. It will certainly take time for this information and these degrees to be applied to education reform but at least we're finally bridging this gap!