Jan 16 2013: I agree and disagree with several previous statements.
Children, In my opinion, should not only be allowed to question their environments, but they should be encouraged to do so. Curiosity is a wonderful motivator and teacher, and when children want to learn, that's when things really start to stick in their minds.
I personally am an advocate of private and charter schools. The fact of the matter is. that in the case of a teacher. a better paid teacher will bring about the expectation of a better education.
I am not demeaning public school teachers in any way. I have nothing but the highest respect for teachers in general, however, in a public school system the money comes from the government. The government cares almost exclusively about results, specifically results which they can show to the public that they are doing something with their taxpayer dollars.
As a result, we have standardized tests. The school needs to show the government that they are doing a good job through the use of these tests, and so they place importance on them via the teachers. The teachers need to have the students do well on the tests in order to show the school they are doing their job.
Which brings us to our current problem.
Private schools, because they (usually) don't depend on government money to operate, are able to use different methods of teaching, putting emphasis on other ways of learning besides those focused on in standard tests.
Education, even public education isn't free. It could be an idea to put more tax dollars into public schooling, thus enabling the better payment of teachers and so attracting more people to teaching jobs. But I just don't see that happening.
To return to the original question, I think that children should be encouraged to question a point as far as they can. Some children, the ones who ask the question, "why" over and over are the ones who, in the end, will know the answers to questions the contented children never even thought to ask.
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A comment on Conversation: How much of a right do students have to questioning and independent thinking?
Children, In my opinion, should not only be allowed to question their environments, but they should be encouraged to do so. Curiosity is a wonderful motivator and teacher, and when children want to learn, that's when things really start to stick in their minds.
I personally am an advocate of private and charter schools. The fact of the matter is. that in the case of a teacher. a better paid teacher will bring about the expectation of a better education.
I am not demeaning public school teachers in any way. I have nothing but the highest respect for teachers in general, however, in a public school system the money comes from the government. The government cares almost exclusively about results, specifically results which they can show to the public that they are doing something with their taxpayer dollars.
As a result, we have standardized tests. The school needs to show the government that they are doing a good job through the use of these tests, and so they place importance on them via the teachers. The teachers need to have the students do well on the tests in order to show the school they are doing their job.
Which brings us to our current problem.
Private schools, because they (usually) don't depend on government money to operate, are able to use different methods of teaching, putting emphasis on other ways of learning besides those focused on in standard tests.
Education, even public education isn't free. It could be an idea to put more tax dollars into public schooling, thus enabling the better payment of teachers and so attracting more people to teaching jobs. But I just don't see that happening.
To return to the original question, I think that children should be encouraged to question a point as far as they can. Some children, the ones who ask the question, "why" over and over are the ones who, in the end, will know the answers to questions the contented children never even thought to ask.