But it is a greater challenge to educate students who start with much less social capital and increase their social capitalization (like the skills needed to acquire and use knowledge to their best advantage along with social connections).
— Bitter Crank

I worked as a tutor in a disadvantaged high school that was about 80% Mexican immigrant families (kids raised in the US with good conversational English)

One of the most inspiring classes I saw was taught by a black woman I think it was just called leadership class. She taught the kids upper middle class social rules like proper dining etiquette, they made videos of mock dress up job interviews. I imagine this was one of the most helpful classes for them to feel more comfortable entering college and careers in the middle class.

However the smartest kids in that poor school had very good career prospects because they were fluent in Spanish. We had recruiters constantly from different industry and the military. I’d say immigrant kids in extreme poverty with lots of social support via school programs and strong local cultures or big families had better life prospects than the average white working class kids in the suburbs I grew up in.

As someone who was a poor black sheep in a rich family, I can say the cultural gap between rich and poor is like traveling to another country. Many people choose to stay in the same class for the same reasons people stay in the same country or state they are born in. The familiar culture is easier to get along in, even if the grass looks greener on the other side.

I guess I’m imagining something that is like a synthesis between a university, a makerspace and a skillshare collective.

This is exactly what I have come to believe.

I am now exploring the idea of: “what is the minimum amount of control necessary to facilitate a good self directed education?” And “What resources are needed to facilitate the maximum opportunity for self directed learning?” Ex should all financial resources be spent on technology for the students like woodworking tools, 3D printers, pottery kilns etc.. rather than staff to teach and administrators to police. What is the minimum staff necessary?

Have you read about Unschooling?

Well said, as a former teacher in public, private and Montessori schools I sometimes find myself feeling more lost the more methodologies I encounter.

I think there must be a way to synthesize all the good things and throw out all the bad things.
That line of thought has led me into thinking more philosophically about education.

How do I know the things I witnessed and judged as ‘good’ or effective methods in one classroom are actually good for the long term development of those kids? As a teacher you really have no idea what happens to your students in the real world and even if they become famous and successful you have no idea if they are happy or living a meaningful life.

Sometimes I forget that normal parents probably aren’t grappling with these issues in the same way I am.

Are you a sneaky 4Channer trying to make me associate my ideals with NatSo?
I’ve read about it and I see how their false utopia can be appealing to those who don’t really think it through, just like Communist utopia sounds promising until it’s put into practice.

“non manipulative and resistant to manipulation, resistant to false hierarchy, brave enough to take action, but practical enough to not start a losing battle“
Doesn’t sound like Hitler youth to me...

I think we need to look to the past to gain insight and synthesize multiple views into something more cohesive, not just recycle old ideas that may have grains of truth but are not wholistic enough to be practical.

Schools are funded by property taxes, so the funding is determined neighborhood property values already. I agree that many good teachers if given money directly with no regulation from administrators would create a better learning environment.
So much money is wasted on high administrative salaries and fighting frivolous lawsuits.
I think if schools were run on a school by school basis they would have more freedom and the money would be used more efficiently rather than paying district administration that is completely disconnected from the classroom environment at each individual school.
A smaller school could take parents concerns more seriously on a case by case basis this preventing the feelings of alienation that leads to lawsuits.

I see your point about pro choice being more aware of some of these issues. But I don’t see too many pro choice people questioning weather a woman should be following the traditional career trajectory that was created by men for men at a time when women were home taking care of children.

One side of the false dichotomy presented by the politicians/ media is probably more ‘right’. But I think taking little steps to solve the big problems of a society that is changing faster than policy can keep up is a bit like putting a band aid on a gaping wound. It’s a wasted effort that could be going towards a more effective and wholistic solution. The short term solution stifles conversation on the whole issue. I think the conservative side may potentially represent some interests of women in small towns, or women who choose to be homemakers who are being ignored by the liberals.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gray_(psychologist)

I’m seeing this psychologist as being quite influential right now on the fringes of education

Alfie Kohn is also shaking things up in education more in regards to discipline.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfie_Kohn

Banno
I was a public school teacher and I found that public schools tend to be reactionary and not progressive. As new research emerges that shows the current methods aren’t working they just try to shoehorn contradictory new methods in existing models.
Throwing money at this broken system will just result in broken schools with shiny new stuff and maybe small improvements like smaller class sizes.

At this point, I think it would be great if more parents opted to start their own charter schools or create homeschool collectives to experiment with new educational methods. The methods that work would hopefully be praised and continued by the students who were happy with their education.

Actually Steiner’s model is very popular in private education and homeschool communities. It is often combined with the Montessori method to emphasize creativity, nature and spirituality.

Reading Steiner is what got me into thinking about education in a more philosophical and spiritual way instead of seeing it from a more functionalist perspective.

I am currently grappling with the philosophy of “radical unschooling” and trying to pull the best parts from each model and sort out some of the dogma.

What is your understanding of what is wrong in Plato’s republic?