I’m particularly struck these days with the negative impact of a policy that I support: universal mandatory school from ages 6-16 (or longer). I see, at least in a society as unequal as ours, no alternative to it. But it places an enormous moral burden on schooling. ‘Do no harm’ becomes more critical under circumstances in which the population we serve are literally incarcerated. Only the draft army, perhaps, takes away our freedoms in quite this way. To skip school is akin to being AWOL; it is to commit a crime.*This was written nearly twenty years ago in a USA newspaper, but is still relevant to the current situation in both UK and USA.
Deborah Meier’s opinion that there is no alternative to universal mandatory school from ages 6 to 16 is questionable. She qualifies this by claiming that this policy places an ‘enormous moral burden on schooling’ to ‘do no harm’.
My contention is that universal mandatory school is in itself harmful and immoral, because it takes away the freedoms of children and parents.
One harm that is being done seems to me fairly obvious. That is, the prescribing of Ritalin and similar drugs to children, mostly boys, who have been diagnosed as ‘suffering from ADHD’ (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
Ritalin is regarded as a suitable treatment for this supposed disorder, in that it allegedly works by improving focus and reducing impulsive behaviour.
My take on this is not to question whether Ritalin ‘works’ for those children diagnosed with ADHD, but to ask whether there really is such a disorder, and whether the lack of focus on school work, and the impulsive behaviour shown by those children which cause them to be diagnosed with ADHD, are the natural reactions of certain lively children to being incarcerated for several hours on a daily basis and made to do things which are meaningless to them.
What is it about modern schools, modern children, modern families, or modern educational policy, which leads to some children being diagnosed with a disorder and then treated with a drug to make them able to function ‘properly’ in a modern school?
One factor which may have an effect on the behavior of boys in particular is the culture of diminished respect for certain authority figures such as parents, teachers and the police. That is to say, diminished compared to the culture of respect for such figures which prevailed fifty or sixty years ago. Whether this is a ‘good thing’ or a ‘bad thing’ is moot, but if the culture does not respect parents, particularly fathers, then children will not respect parents. If parents do not respect teachers, then boys will not respect teachers.
Another factor is diet: some children live on an unhealthy diet, high in sugars, hydrogenated fats, and containing certain artificial colourings and flavourings. Such a diet may have a negative effect on their ability to focus.
One simple answer to the damaging effects that compulsory education has on many children is: abolish compulsory education.
* Deborah Meier, 'The Moral Burdens of Mandatory Schooling', Education Week, 13 March 2008.
Christine Fulcher