I feel like every parent or future parent, or even just concerned citizen, must watch this:
My biggest takeaway is that there is research that shows that kids come to us GENIUSES, and we siphon it away until they are "educated." That terrifies me! I'd love to hear what you all think.
eggplant / 11824 posts
I can’t see video at work so I haven’t seen the video. Im not sure how/what the video would show/prove the statement: “My biggest takeaway is that there is research that shows that kids come to us GENIUSES, and we siphon it away until they are "educated."
I don’t think kids come to us geniuses, but then somehow by teaching them knowledge and skills they didn’t have before, we dumb them down. That just doesn’t make any logical sense to me.
Can you elaborate on the video in case others can't view it? 
apricot / 498 posts
I haven't watched the video either but I don't believe that babies are highly highly intelligent and we make them stupid.
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
I watched the video, and thought it was great. Thanks for sharing!
I do believe that the education system is horribly structured. I was miserable in school. There's a revolution going on now around education, and it's been really exciting to watch it in action.
coconut / 8305 posts
Watching now and so far I think it's a great video! From what I've seen in other documentaries on babies brain development, children being medicated, and the school system it's pretty right on.
We actually decided this year to start homeschooling DS b/c of the issues we had with the education system. Things are going MUCH better and I'm much more confident in the future outcome. =)
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
Sorry if I got a bit hyperbolic in my language. I have strong feelings when it comes to education and this video got me worked up (in a good way)!
@yoursilverlining: The video shows research from NASA on the creativity of young children and how it decreases as they grow up in the mainstream school system. 98% of 5 year olds were shown to be a "genius" level of creativity, but by the time the same children were adults, only 2% of them were still on that level! It goes to show that children are born with an innate capacity for creativity but somewhere along the way, they lose it. Why isn't our education system dedicated to preserving and furthering this?
@venice4504: Just curious - why not? Maybe not newborns (although research shows babies understand a lot more than we think they do) but I feel like many kids are less intelligent after going through our broken school systems than they were when they started out.
@mrbee: I agree! It seems like smart kids hate school the most. How sad is that?
@runsyellowlites: Good luck with homeschooling! You're blessed that you have the ability and means to do so... its just heartbreaking for all the kids who don't have any other options than their crappy public school. (And I know not all public schools are crappy but a lot are, especially if parents aren't active.)
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@daniellemybelle: Haha I never said I was smart!
Btw though, I don't think that the education system is entirely to blame for the drop in creativity as we get older. Our subconscious minds lack the ability for critical and inductive reasoning. But as our conscious mind develop, it starts kicking in and our thinking and decision making tends to become more filtered.
When you hypnotize someone, you can remove their ability to think critically and inductively... so if you tell someone they're a duck, then they think they're a duck! It's a neat way to see how the subconscious mind works when the conscious mind is taken out of the equation!
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
@mrbee: Great point! And I think critical/inductive thinking can go hand in hand with creativity... but there is so much focus on The Right Answer that BOTH critical thinking and creative thinking go out the window. My husband used to be a high school teacher, and with the high-stakes testing they had grown up with, these inner-city kids only knew how to memorize and regurgitate facts. Their ability to argue for the right answer other than, "That's the right answer," was pretty much nonexistent. But when they all passed the standardized test and the school got their federal budget approved another year, everyone called it a success and the superintendent held a press conference in front of the building.
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@daniellemybelle: I'm not familiar with the world of high-stakes testing... it's sad to hear though that things have gotten even worse than they were!
eggplant / 11824 posts
Well, I’ll admit that I’m totally suspect of any study that finds that 98% of children are creative “geniuses” and then that make necessary correlation = causation leap that a decrease in creativity over time is because of public school. There are plenty of other factors why creativity diminishes over time – like the fact that when you know nothing (like very young children) your creative outlets are basically infinite because you have no found interests yet, whereas, as an adult you’ve found what you enjoy and excel at, which would mean your creativity is narrowed – but not in a negative way.
I don’t think there are easy answers like saying that the entire public school system is broken and ruins creativity. Part of the reason creativity isn’t necessary furthered without restrictions in public (and private) school is resources. If you have 30 students and 1 teacher, not everyone’s individual creativity and learning styles can be accommodated. The more education funding is cut, the worse it gets. The same is also true for homeschooling though, since most home schooling mothers/teachers are not matsers/PhD level subject matter experts in every single field or every learning style – so, they also wouldn’t be furthering every creative possibility of their child. Know what I mean?
As for home schooling, I know its becoming more popular – just be cautious assuming generally more positive than public school. My husband is getting the first crop of home schoolers in his freshman classes now (in college) since home schooling became more popular, and not ONE of those kids has been prepared for basic, entry level college work. Most people are not educationally equipped to be teaching high school level subjects, which is why teachers specialize in one subject – not everything at once.
grapefruit / 4800 posts
Interesting video.
I don't think it's just school now that squashes imagination. It's in vogue now to call yourself a rationalist and say I only believe what the science says. But there's incredible power in imagination and thinking outside the box and I think people are too focused on bring their children down to earth or something.
As for ADHD, I completely agreethat expectations of children don't fit reality - 'take your pills and focus'.
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
@yoursilverlining: Great points. When you said, "The more education funding is cut, the worse it gets," you were totally right. Public schools are totally beholden to state and federal governments for funds, and governments have connected access to these funds to test scores. So schools make the whole focus testing in order to get funding - meaning that the arts, P.E., second languages, anything that isn't tested is put on the back burner, if not totally eliminated. Of course, they can't afford to have these programs without the funding, so its this crappy Catch-22. I'm sure you know all this - it just frustrates me to no end! And I agree with you about homeschooling. It certainly has its pros and cons.
@Maysprout: I totally agree... but I think we are swinging back in the other direction a bit, at least with kids.
I guess my question now is - How do parents foster imagination, creativity, independent thinking, etc. in their children?
persimmon / 1202 posts
In my case, school DEFINITELY squashed my interest level in, well, everything, because it was SO SLOW. My parents started homeschooling me, and by going at my own pace, I retained an active interest in the workings of universe. Until college...
pear / 1787 posts
@daniellemybelle: I teach an education unit in my composition classes at a university, and we explore these kinds of issues in my class--I'm very interested in the system and its pros and cons.
You should check out the writing of John Taylor Gatto. Here's a cool video to get you started:
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
@DigAPony: John Taylor Gatto has blown my mind. I don't agree with everything he says, but some of his arguments are scarily convincing... wow. Thanks for sharing!
pear / 1787 posts
@daniellemybelle: Yes! I also don't agree with a lot of his arguments/theories, but he presents some really fascinating things to think about.
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