One-on-One

Though I am not an educator, I have worked professionally with children for two decades. Thus, I think I know a little bit about how they think and learn. Each child learns in different ways: some learn by doing, some by listening. Thus, teaching the post-pole-shift child will be more of a one-on-one technique (much like the mixed grade classrooms of 100 years ago). After the pole shift, I suggest we observe each child and note how he/she learns. Teach each child accordingly at his/her own pace. Some will learn biology, for example, by interacting with their environment, and some will learn it by reading.

Offered by Lyn.

Children need one-on-one teaching, to a certain extent, something which nowadays isn't part of the educational system which in it's own way is a mechanized production plant producing poorly educated children not at all ready for life, only ready, to a certain extent, for taking part in the capitalistic society. Be glad a pole shift is coming, for in the Aftertime, might you be part of a community that can sustain procreation. One-on-one will be a possibility again as there won't be too many children around.

Offered by Michel.

From what I gathered, today's educational convention of teaching all the kids the same things at the same time, is increasingly being blamed (at least by some researchers) for being one of the causes of alienation and dyslexia among the young. The reason for its continued use despite the obviously apparent drawbacks, is, as you're probably well aware, a financial one. We simply don't have enough money to hire yet more heavily underpaid and under privileged teachers, in order to decrease the number of pupils in each class. So, what do we do about it? Well, a possible suggestion is offered by the behaviorist B. F. Skinner, who presents a very believable and (I think) beautiful vision of a futuristic utopian commune in his book Walden Two.

He basically says that the children's learning process should be divided into two parts: the part that all do together, and the important part, which each kid does on his own or in very small groups. All the kids are taught together the very basics of arithmetic, geometry, science, and language, and then each kid becomes a sort of an apprentice with a group of adults who are busy at a certain task anyway, and learns from them while they work and he helps them. In this way, everyone benefits, as it has been proven (in my opinion, at least), that children learn the most by experience and trust. Children need to know the basics of everything, and from then on each is drawn naturally to what his knack is in life.

Offered by Shaul.