School Teaches Socialisation
by Marin Angel Lazarov
School teaches socialisation. This is a very popular argument among supporters of modern schools. School socialisation is presented as something unconditionally positive.
What is a School Community?
What is a school community? It is a group of people who have been forcibly placed in the same class. They are not united by common interests or goals. They are not friends and do not engage in the same activities. Despite all this, these people are forced to spend a lot of time with each other.
In such societies, power is often seized by the most aggressive, oppressive people. Like in the army. Or prison.
The Bullying Culture
These aggressive people start bullying someone. There are those who bully and those who silently agree with it. They all perceive the established relationships as normal and such attitudes towards each other as a matter of course.
And this lasts for 10 years!
The Adult World is Different
Then a person enters the adult world and there... Everything is different! Adults choose their own social circle. If you start a new job and find that everyone in the office is an idiot, you simply change companies. Although offices are usually friendly places. Even if people don't get along, they don't bully or tease each other.
What Socialisation Do Adults Actually Need?
- To feel comfortable around people.
- To easily meet new people.
- To speak in public and talk to others.
But school, with its punishment for mistakes, its hostility towards 'outsiders,' and its mockery of others, teaches the exact opposite. It teaches that it is better not to stick your neck out, not to express your opinion, better to be like everyone else.
Some manage to avoid this, but not everyone. A person who finishes school is, as a rule, infinitely more insecure and self-conscious than when they started.
We Need Different Socialisation
We need a different kind of socialisation. We need to show children that relationships are built on mutual interest and sympathy, that there are many different people in the world, and that if someone behaves like a jerk, you can simply cut them out of your life.
Children need to see examples of friendly communication, acceptance, and support.
All of this is lacking in schools. And in families, too.