The Permanent Recession

Until students are placed in environments suited to each of their needs, they will not have equal opportunity to develop. They will be cheated of opportunity by being crammed into a uniform environment that suits nobody's needs. I am against that. I have seen the damage that it does, from multiple angles, and it is terrible. Children need different learning environments the same way they need different sizes of clothes.

>>It's a huge challenge, isn't it? To find what makes each child unique, to provide for how he or she learns best, not in isolation but with a group of other children as diverse as the society they live in; without favoring some over others.<<

Yes, that's true. *ponder* I think our society has flunked "separate but equal" so badly that it makes people gun-shy about making divisions that are useful and necessary. Some people learn better in a group, some alone; and some subjects are better presented to individuals or groups. The advantage to teaching in skill-groups is that it's actually achievable; some schools do it. A more sophisticated system would provide individual time to focus on each child's greatest strengths and weaknesses, skill-group time to work with others at the same level, and collective time with students of different skill levels so they could learn how to work with each other. That's theoretically possible, but would be a real battle to instate.

>> I'd say the solution starts with a home and workplace safe from heavy metals, violence, and other dangers, with access to birth control and prenatal care; the health and well-being of the mother-to-be affects the development of the child; as will postpartum care for mother and child, time off work for the new parents, the child's early nutrition and play, etc. What we call 'intelligence' is shaped long before a child gets to school, even if public schools were equally funded, staffed, and equipped.<<

On this I agree. Intelligence has multiple factors, including genetics, physical environment, and family interaction. Many children do not achieve their potential intelligence due to poor diet, lack of stimulation, and toxic (physical or otherwise) environments. Improving the background would raise the overall intelligence by reducing or removing the impairments.

>> Maybe we can agree on this, too. In any case, I enjoy discussing things with you, Elizabeth.<<

Yea, verily! You keep me on my toes; I value that in an audience member.