If you are a high school junior or senior, and come a fall semester you announce you’re not go

If you are a high school junior or senior, and come a fall semester you announce you’re not going back to school, certain things may happen. After the heart attacks, threats and bluster, you can get down to business. People can start to talk realistically to you about school, what it’s good for and what it isn’t. You find people are moved to share their own school experiences with you. People may begin to listen to the reasons you’re done with school. Being a “zed omega” teen, you find, opens the doors of perception to the realities of education for many kids. Good thing, too: Education tends to be one of those “emperor’s new clothes” topics, full of polarized issues and unquestioned assumptions. And you turn out to be the child in the fable, pointing to the way things really are. What did this public media project discover? Peruse our archive, and you’ll find these themes: YOU SILLY KIDS.  The predominant adult point of view towards teens is that they have nothing of value to say about their own educations.  INERT FACTS.  Changes to the way we access information has made sweeping changes to the way we work and live our lives. “Inert facts,” for example, have been almost completely devalued, but has the matter and method of school changed in response? (more) CONFORMITY AND INDUSTRIALIZED ED - 1. The needs of the group outweigh the needs of the individuals in the group. The more you deviate from the norm, the more your needs get outweighed. There is a constant unspoken pressure to conform.  CONFORMITY AND INDUSTRIALIZED ED - 2. Meanwhile, most of the problems that prevent kids from succeeding in school come from the system’s inability to recognize and effectively address their individual needs. TEEN CARE. BY TEENS. School segregates teens from other age groups, effectively depriving them of social anchors and guidance when most needed, and the forced segregation has predictably harsh results. (more and more) CREATIVITY AND DIVERSITY – NOT. Futurists identify “creativity” or “innovation” and “diversity” as the sources of national competitive advantage going forward. Does school encourage these? (more) FIRMLY FACING THE PAST. True or false? “My school is firmly committed to teaching me 21st-century skills and equipping me with the ability to adapt readily to the rapidly changing economy.” Here’s one opinion. ACCREDITATION TRUMPS LEARNING. Learn to the test. (more and more and more) OMG, I FAILED. Pick the correct response to teach resiliency and responsibility: (a) No problem, let’s try again. (b) You get an F. Let’s move on. RISING OUT? Some kids who quit school would be better characterized as “rising out” – they are seeking something better, not something easier. (more) CHECK-OUTS AND THE ACCOMPLISHED CHILD. Many kids find school easy. They glide through school unchallenged and enter the real world unprepared for adversity and empty of self-knowledge and “grit.” (more and more) YOU OBLIVIOUS KIDS. High schools pretend that none of these conundrums affect the kids attending school, that they are not stressful or crazy-making. (try it yourself) ZED OMEGA REPORT - FINAL, Part TwoZED OMEGA REPORT - FINAL, Part Three -- source link

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