I'm afraid I am going to rant. I know, surprise. Here is the thing... I love when everyone is happy. I love when everyone wins. I love when everyone is excited about everything that is good and shuns everything that is bad and everyone always chooses the right and never the wrong - when people (even small children) are perfectly behaved in public and private and everywhere in between. I think it would be marvelous if no one ever lost their temper or felt angry or hurt or demeaned AND if, in fact, they ever felt those things, they could respond with charity - even at a young age. I would love it if every child sat perfectly still in their desk absorbing ABSOLUTELY everything that was being shared with them - at such a great cost - financially, emotionally, and mentally. These things sound wonderful.
BUT - it's not that way. My question is - where is the cutoff between "Everyone WINS!" and, "If you want to win next time, you will need to practice harder and put in more effort!" Where is the line between a child who is "Out of CONTROL" and one that has "Spunk. Character. Energy". Do you ever feel like society is trying to make us all into the same person?
In one way I love the seeming "fairness" of letting everyone have a chance and letting everyone feel the glory of winning and saving everyone the agony of losing - but at the same time - isn't the agony of losing a worthwhile feeling? Has it never driven anyone to greatness? And what about winning? If everyone is the same, how does anyone feel that thrill of greatness? Isn't it all just a shroud of mediocrity?
On the same line, but a different vein - why does every child need to be drugged into complacency in order for a label such as "ADD" or ADHD", or even "unfocused" to follow them around for their career as a student? Those "ADD/ADHD..." children of yesteryear are now some of our most celebrated heroes - ever heard of Einstein or Edison? Not your "model sit-down-shut-up" students to say the least! As a matter of fact, Einstein clashed with authorities and resented the school regimen. He once wrote that the spirit of learning and creative thought were lost in strict rote learning. And Edison? In school, when he was young, his mind often wandered, and his teacher, the Reverend Engle, was overheard calling him "addled". What if they had been medicated to sit very still and pay the strictest of attention? Would they have been the creative geniuses that they are? I think not.
Why do we, as a society, place such value on the achievement of "SAMENESS" of "MEDIOCRITY" of "CONFORMITY". Certainly, I believe that these attributes have their place and worth - but to let them become the ONLY thing we are striving for, I fear will ruin our children and our world.
Here is MY real problem - I don't know where the line is - but, the more I have to walk around it - I know where it isn't.
