Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
This time of year marks an amazing transformation for the nation’s Wal-Marts and Targets and some of the grocery stores. Aisles upon aisles are taken up with the most necessary implements of the American public school: not dictionaries and maps of the world, not chronological tables and periodic charts, not even so much writing paper and pencils and pens. Rather, parents are busily buying glue by the gallon and crayons by the cart. In fact, if a Martian—or even a careful observer from abroad—came to this country right about now and were told that Americans were doing their back-to-school shopping, the visitor might be under the impression that the schools were captive markets of the Elmer’s Glue and Crayola Crayon companies.
We never think twice about it. It happens year after year. Therefore, it’s supposed to be this way. Yet let’s consider the national back-to-school spree in light of a little-read but vital passage in one of America’s favorite novels:
The remainder of my schooldays were no more auspicious than the first. Indeed, they were an endless Project that slowly evolved into a Unit, in which miles of construction paper and wax crayon were expended by the State of Alabama in its well-meaning but fruitless efforts to teach me Group Dynamics. What Jem called the Dewey Decimal System was school-wide by the end of my first year, so I had no chance to compare it with other techniques. I could only look around me: Atticus and my uncle, who went to school at home, knew everything—at least, what one didn’t know the other did. Furthermore, I couldn’t help noticing that my father had served for years in the state legislature, elected each time without opposition, innocent of the adjustments my teachers thought essential to the development of Good Citizenship. . . . As for me, I knew nothing except what I gathered from Time magazine and reading everything I could lay hands on at home, but as I inched sluggishly along the treadmill of the Maycomb County school system, I could not help receiving the impression that I was being cheated out of something. Out of what I knew not, yet I did not believe that twelve years of unrelieved boredom was exactly what the state had in mind for me.
That’s Harper Lee writing in 1960, presumably reflecting back upon her own schooling during the Depression when progressive political policies were taking over the economy and progressive educational policies were taking over the schools. Neither has ever fully recovered, but, believe it or not, the schools have fared much, much worse.
There is a great deal of truth to unpack in this passage, perhaps the most succinct and accurate critique of the public schools in existence. The central assumption is that schools were originally intended for a very specific purpose: to teach children how to read, write, and calculate and to introduce them to the higher branches of learning. That’s it—quite a lot, no doubt, and yet not everything. The schools were not created for children to do activities and to socialize. Children, after all, could color and glue and chat and play games together a lot more cheaply and with far greater freedom at home and in their own neighborhoods than they can in an institutional setting—and probably with a lot more enjoyment. Nor do taxpaying citizens have any stake whatsoever in whether a child learns to color or to cut out pretty patterns. They do have a stake in whether a child learns to read.
The confusion over aims in public education is only one of the factors contributing to the failure of billions of dollars of taxpayer money invested annually to yield anything but marginal returns. Yet it may be the leading factor. Consider this scenario. If schools were to stop all the Mickey Mouse projects and crafts—and their equivalents at the high-school level—how long would a school day actually last? How much time in a given school day does a teacher spend imparting knowledge to students? And what portion of the day has students coloring? My guess is that the time given to instruction would turn out to be no more than two hours, leaving aside the quality of instruction during that two hours. I do not mean that the school day should be two hours, but that is what it would be—if even that long—were all the fluff taken out.
“Two hours! What? My kids dropped off at eight and picked up at ten?” Shhhh. That’s the secret every unionized teacher and every parent looking for subsidized day care doesn’t want us to know.
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Mar '11
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
Good points. Also, "study hall" periods: abolish them.
Jun '10
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
"Twelve years of unrelieved boredom" is a perfect summary of my memories of school.
Oct '10
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
Karl Hess's autobiography Mostly on the Edge is achingly eloquent on this point. “Boot up” a kid by teaching him or her how to read, at as young an age as possible, then point them at a library every time they confront you with a question and just stand back and watch what happens. Now, that's not to say that every kid has the innate curiosity or talent to explore our vast intellectual heritage—tautologically half are below median intelligence, but I suspect that for every child who wouldn't benefit from this approach there are dozens whose spark has been extinguished by the stultifying boredom of government schools.
Edited on August 28, 2011 at 11:44pmFeb '11
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
Arts and crafts never ends: I must snip and tape receipts to a piece of paper, scan them and email them in order to get reimbursed for travel. The difference between my activities and those of the third graders in my wife's class is that the third graders are learning something while they work with their hands (they learn more with manipulatives, particularly with math). Me, I learn that I get repaid faster when I get my arts and crafts finished.
Aug '11
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
Terrence O. Moore: My guess is that the time given to instruction would turn out to be no more than two hours, leaving aside the quality of instruction during that two hours. I do not mean that the school day should be two hours, but that is what it would be—if even that long—were all the fluff taken out.
“Two hours! What? My kids dropped off at eight and picked up at ten?” Shhhh. That’s the secret every unionized teacher and every parent looking for subsidized day care doesn’t want us to know. ·
You're probably not that far off. Ask anyone who homeschools. My kids are almost always done with their schoolwork by the time I get home for lunch at noon.
May '10
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
Terrence O. Moore:
“Two hours! What? My kids dropped off at eight and picked up at ten?” Shhhh. That’s the secret every unionized teacher and every parent looking for subsidized day care doesn’t want us to know. ·
Exactly. The greatest problem of modern education is not subjects or activites but the fact that the average American kid spends as much or more time being taught and governed by teachers as by parents and neighbors. Government and social programs are replacing parenthood.
We must break the popular notion that government is right to intervene wherever a public interest exists. Society exists to serve and protect individuals; not the other way around.
Sep '10
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
Aaron Miller
but the fact that the average American kid spends as much or more time being taught and governed by teachers as by parents and neighbors. Government and social programs are replacing parenthood.
No, the greatest problem is that they spend all that time in age-segregated cohorts. That's where the stupidity flourishes and worst of their mal-education is imparted.
Dec '10
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
Parents are supposedly spending an average of $700 for back-to-school, which we did not come close to.
If we wanted our kids to have access to the textbooks we pay for, we had to go pick them up, or access them online (no backpacks allowed, no books issued to students). I drove over to the school to request actual books. I am so tired of working on homework with kids and having them tell me, "That's not how we're supposed to do it, I swear, you can ask the teacher!" That doesn't work here.
I was, obviously, the only parent to have gone in to get books, as only the principal was allowed to get them for me and it proved to be a major disruption. While there, I was able to tell him about problems with the online books, as well, including that there was no such thing as "Big Ideas Math, 1"; There was red, green, and blue and (ironically) not a single number available in text descriptions.
We have scissors and paste, here. Now I just have to get through these books (which are so far very good, yay Pearson/Prentice Hall!).
Apr '11
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
As a teacher at a private parochial high school, I wish I could say that such nonsense is strictly the domain of government schools. But my experience has been that students are simply not expected to demonstrate objective knowledge. Assignments which are simple and verifiable are incredibly unpopular with students because they are so accustomed to unnecessarily complex homework which allows - indeed, encourages - them to cheat or fake their way to a completion grade. Group projects are disturbingly prevalent, despite the fact that such assignments erode personal responsibility and teach students to be deceptive. By high school, students should be eager for intellectual challenge, but their prior experiences with busy work have replaced curiosity and pattern-seeing with passivity. Those who are not are not suited for book-learning in the first place should be encouraged to pursue goals other than a "college-prep" education, but the stigma of technical school prevents many of these students from pursuing productive and dignity-imparting work. For academically-inclined students, the egalitarian structure of conventional education fosters a deep cynicism about the value of merit and achievement.
Oct '10
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
I can confirm this from my personal family experience. Myself and my siblings were all home-schooled via a correspondence course based in Illinois. We always did extremely well in the state-mandated standardized testing and got decent ACT scores when we finished the high school curriculum.
Two hours is about right, for a basic high school education, and the student would graduate at age 16. Add in a reasonable level of fluff (elective courses, vocational training, etc) and you might have four hours a day, and half the students still graduating at 16.
Oct '10
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
We home school, and I can tell you from experience that we accomplish in 3-4 hrs what would take a whole day in public school. "Public education" is a lot more about indoctrination than education; it is the temple of humanism.
Edited on August 29, 2011 at 12:05amNov '10
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
Another homeschooler here. We do "hard core" stuff each day like recitation and grammar in addition to the core subjects. We also have a "circle time" that includes catechism and hymns and folk songs and picture study and composer study and story time....
And we're still finished each day by lunch.
Feb '11
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
I saw an item somewhere about a Harvard Law School professor who requires her students to make *posters* demonstrating what they've learned.
May '10
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
The post may be a bit curmudgeonly but is in no way off the mark. My oldest goes to a local charter school that's having to pinch every penny but is showing impressive progress. One example: they have a uniform policy that slashes the back-to-school expense and nonsense. Only polo shirts are allowed. They must be one of four colors. Pants must be navy or khaki. The kids aren't ogling everyone else's stuff and their focus is easier steered to the reason they're there in the first place. And right now we're spending a bit under half the amount the local traditional schools spend per pupil. It's not enough for a number of reasons, but it is instructive. When I hear public schools plead poverty, I simply quit listening. Their problem is not funding - it's unwise budgeting and a failure to prioritize classroom instruction. Bottom line: your typical public school superintendent these days is more of a construction foreman than a schoolmaster.
Edited on August 29, 2011 at 12:25amRe: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
Terrence, I'd love to see a post about the curriculum followed by the charter school you founded and ran in Colorado. For so many of us, it's hard to even imagine a real life alternative to the sandbox activities employed by far too many schools these days.
I had a great elementary school experience (at a private Christian school run by Chinese administrators). What made it so enjoyable and worthwhile was the tightly structured routine; no moment was wasted. Hours flowed from reading to practicing penmanship to in-class writing assignments to Bible to arithmetic to science to history to physical education.
It's really a tragedy that so many of America's children are cheated out of a great education by teachers and administrators who are busier worrying about their pensions than about imparting knowledge.
Jul '10
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
Diane Ellis, Ed.:
.. practicing penmanship... · Aug 28 at 3:34pm
Yer so old.
Feb '11
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
At the same time that arts & crafts seem to be invading every subject, *serious* arts and crafts in education are clearly on the decline. Many schools have eliminated wood shop, metal shop, etc.
I think many "educators" think that all subjects are inherently uninteresting, so they have to be spiced up by glumphing a lot of them together.
Dec '10
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
This is how it went in our school because the kids kept getting hurt.
Why were they getting hurt? Because the "coach" had to teach something, and wood shop was the only thing that didn't require some kind of a specific degree.
So, the coach taught shop, the school got to win two in stead of one basketball game in a year, and the digits of many a pupil were abraded, pierced, bored, cloven, and generally mistreated.
Eventually the carnage could no longer be denied, but instead of getting a proper instructor (like someone who could, you know, operate all the equipment safely), the shop was shuttered for good and everyone was forced to take Home Economics (which by this time was actually code for "How to bake cookies and reattach buttons").
It was just as well, because the amount of learning done in the shop was just about zero. Everything they "taught" us I already knew how to do by the time I got there, but I suspect I was the outlier in that regard.
May '11
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
The most important reform we could have in this country is to eliminate public schools. That alone would eliminate 70% of all local political enmity.
May '10
Re: Can't Kids Do Crafts at Home?
This was one of the main reasons we home schooled our children and we, too, were usually finished by lunchtime. We also utilized Florida Virtual High School and, the kids still finished their daily work within 3 - 4 hours of study.
Edited on August 29, 2011 at 3:31am