The Massive Failing in Children's Education | George Monbiot

And What We Can Do About It...

[TheDominicProject]

It's typical that even as a child, I knew school 'felt' wrong, I knew it could be done better. I didn't know how, or why I felt this way, just that whatever was happening in front of me was not engaging.

[michaelrch]

Monbiot is the best.
I hope your recovery from Covid is going really well George. Great to see you back on our screens.

[robertwinslade]

George Monbiot's videos are always so good

[joaoalbuquerque]

Unfortunately in school our kids are taught to be Competitors and selfish individuals with just one goal.. To become the best at whatever cost to themselves and to those around them.. Its quite sad to observe.

[earlworth]

I remember during my GCSE's, the subject "critical thinking skills" was available only to a portion of those in the top sets for English, maths and science. There was more of a concern that kids were wearing the correct colour trainers than whether they were actually engaged and learning something in the classes.

[leefields]

Myself and my wife have led with this principal since our kids were born. We did try the school system, but 5 years ago we gave up and homeschooled ever since. We are always outdoors and surrounding them with animals and nature to kick start projects as well as museum/hands-on group activities. This has led to many years of child-lead learning as well as we keep some 'curriculum' based activities (maths/english) to tune them for both. As a result, our children are advanced in history, geography and science as well as being great at art and languages. They love learning! The 'modern' (Victorian) education system is nothing but a tick-box joke and a national disgrace when I look at what other children the same age as ours are capable of. The ideological battle against most home education parents and alternative learning is just a big cynical ploy by conservatives because they just want our kids not to question..

[TheMojomo]

The education system's biggest failing is not teaching children the evils of greed and the importance of decency and how to see through lies of materialism.

[lizhughes]

Lucky kids having GM as their teacher. 🙂

[nojerama]

This was a huge part about how my parents taught me, I loved school but I also learned a lot from my parents that was way outside the curriculum. I'd watch nature documentaries with my dad and my mum taught me gardening and the names of birds and woodland animals, and it gave me both an insatiable curiosity (and became a huge reason I went into science as a career), and also a huge appreciation for our planet and where I lived. So much gratitude for my parents for that emphasis on the natural world that I just didn't get in school.

[Number_Free]

Superb. A real gem.

Also missing I believe:
* Parenting Skills!!
* Money Management
* Political Awareness (Government)
* Management Skills (Teamwork)
* Critical Thinking
* Innovation/Enterprise

[barryirlandi]

I have been a Primary school teacher for 16 years... Gave up this year.

[Patrick-jjnh]

Ever had a nightmare that you were still in school? Possibly dreaming you forgot to prepare for a test? I am convinced many people are experiencing mild forms of PTSD later in life due to the extreme stress students experiencee in schools. We need to move away from regimented certification and rating championships to open centres for lifelong learning that inspire and enable students from any background from day one.

[Luca-lyvh]

Incredible stuff. This would be a real keystone change

[Anita-mdze]

It's not a failure George, it's on purpose.

[mikebaker]

I’m always amazed by thumbs down for George Monbiots’ videos. What sort of people vote this important stuff down?

[jimlyon]

For many years after leaving school I felt trapped in an information vacuum where like being in a mist it cleared for a few moments before closing in again & I was left wondering - "What exactly was that?" Having talked to others they had similar experiences. - With more experience it dawned on me that while schools might supply certificates to help get a job, with regards to understanding the "dark side" of our species & why THE HUMAN CONDITION is so toxic* I was left clueless!
Eventually I worked out that my problem ( & that of most others) is I'd been deliberately set up with a LEARNING DEFICIT ! - This is a quite deliberate ploy by our corrupt politicians who rig the conventional education system so as to deliberately dumb us down so that we are easier to control ( & this is not only my view as Noam Chomsky has also said the conventional education system is deliberately set up to make us "PASSIVE " ) & not get in the way of corrupt politicians who's ONLY interest is obtaining-retaining power for their benefit while they operate @ our expense! Which is a direct contradiction to their lies about caring for us.
Considering just how useless the conventional education system really is I gave up & when the internet became available used that to RE-EDUCATE myself on what I wanted to learn rather than the mainly useless info I was taught. So a short synopsis of relevant & useful things I learned are -
*THE child psychologist ALICE MILLER stated that 90% of our species are dysfunctional because of authoritarian - abusive- toxic parenting The symptoms that result from that cause @ one end people who take nicotine-alcohol-drugs to medicate their emotional pain to @ the other end the "great" dictators of the 20th century Hitler/Stalin/Mao/Pol Pot
( It is no random coincidence that they were all abused children who's pathological defence mechanism was to become psychopaths e.g. shut down emotionally & seek power to protect themselves) Unfortunately these dictators obtained such power as to allow them to re-enact their child hood traumas-dramas on the world stage leading to World War / Holocaust - Genocide / deliberate famine / etc
While I feel sorry for what happened to them as kids clearly, @ the VERY least psychopaths should NEVER EVER be given power - & clearly we have yet to learn that lesson ! BTW - ALICE MILLER has written over a dozen books & a good starting point is "For Your Own Good: The Roots of Violence in Child-Rearing "

[adamkane]

I Thank the universe for double down news. A curriculum for life has been voted by young people as the one of, if not, the most import issue for a decade now in the uk. (mark your mark survey.)

[bhasb]

Everyone should share this, for the future.

[kassachap]

When one species goes, then the dominoes will begin to fall.

[Adamb]

Our school system needs a radical revolution, we would have a far more engaged society if we were to teach young people about ecological/social justices, government/laws/rights and mental health