RE: Machinery of Freedom: Take back education
Great post Tony. I think you pretty much covered all the bases. One thing I would add is that movement should be incorporated as much as possible into learning. I need to research this more, but the basic idea is that as humans were originally hunter gatherers, we learn better when moving as opposed to sitting at a desk. This is especially relevant to young kids for obvious reasons. Unfortunately here in Japan I'm not in a good location to do this with my students. Would be nice to have a bigger space or some land to do this, but if I moved to where there's more space I wouldn't have any students to teach.
As far as agendas go, they've got that here too. I teach English to some school teachers and I'm sometimes shocked at how little say they have as far as curriculum goes. Also, it's all rote memorization to pass tests. Listen, study, test. No questions please.
Despite's that, human curiosity just can't be snuffed out. I still meet people who want to learn and ask questions.
I completely agree about movement.
Basic life skills (growing food, gathering water, creating shelters, fixing buildings, etc.) would be an easy way to do this.
Growing food could also include identifying edible plants, creating a school garden, planting fruit trees and bushes in local towns/parks/etc. would also be a good way to give something physical to do.
Of course, with a little creativity movement could be incorporated into just about any class of any age.
I did very well in school... but never liked it.
I think rote memorization is one of the worst things in school systems. Questions, open discussions, research, and debates would help facilitate core skills in any class while giving kids a reason to move about and get involved in their own eduction.
I honestly don't remember much rote memorization when I was in school except maybe the multiplication table. It is very helpful when learning a second language though. You can certainly use memory techniques too, but I found flash cards very effective when I first started studying Japanese. However, that's a bit different from rote memorization of facts in your mother tongue, which isn't a bad thing in itself, the problem is being tested on facts, dates, names, etc. instead of the big picture.
I think combining the basic life skills in a familiar outdoor area with memory techniques that rely on knowing that area for memorizing those things that need it could be a good way to kill two birds with one stone.