MARCH 9, 2006
Everyone
must attend school at sometime in their life in this country. School is of great value to any culture, but if the curriculum lacks some of the key components that keeps a nation on a firm foundation then what's the use. There must be more than reading, writing and arithmetic; but what studies are really vital to the health of our society that is missing?
I offer 3 things: sex education, family education, and environmental education.
These 3 must be taught as early as pre-school and should weave through graduate school and into adult education or continuing education courses.
#1: Good sex education. The divorce statistics are roughly indicating you and I have a 50-50 chance of making it through our lives without divorcing our partner. Sexual dysfunction ranks at an all time high as the sales of pornography through the internet soar. To deny good education to our young discredits them and handicaps them as they move into the world of videos, movies, and bad behavior modeled by all types in all segments of our culture.
#2. Family education: Courses on communication, conflict resolution, and family life script will inoculate our young against the challenges of building a family in an increasingly polarized and dangerous world. Give the tools earlier and the family has a better chance of survival.
#3 Environmental education is still on the periphery of most curriculums; yet it will become integral to all education in the future.
So what do we educate people for in this country? I suppose, earning a living would be the number one factor. The unintended consequences of this as primary focus are that we are also educating people in destroying the family and environment, and dreaming the impossible dream of a fulfilled and happy life. Lose family and lose nature and you lose your soul - our Native American elders remind us of this all the time.
Not to sound pessimistic, revising curriculum from the ground up beginning with a study of the natural world makes sense today. Being in touch with nature is a natural inclination of a child, but we breed it out of them by putting plastic toys and plasma screen television in front of them from birth on.
Place a child on the lawn for 10 minutes and the child begins to be educated by the natural surroundings. Reinforce this in the classroom and we will educate people to enlightenment.
--Peter