As if I needed more reasons to hold this country in contempt, particularly its educational system, it appears the Queensland government has gone snooker loopy.
Now. Logic and indeed common sense tell us that the school system is intended to prepare children for adult life. I know, I snorted just as dismissively when I wrote that. But let’s work with the theoretical side. Life skills, knowledge, etc. You know the drill, we all did it. (Of course, I still haven’t had to regurgitate a textbook in a non-educational context, but it’s bound to happen one day, isn’t it?) What I want to know is why this is even relevant in the first place. An employer will not mark a shoddy piece of work with a red pen and tell you it’s not good enough. You’ll be berated and possibly fired. Now. To just about anyone reading, this has most likely happened at least once (whether you deserved it or not.) We’ve all had the dressing down for whatever reason. You responded by either finding a new job with the intention to avoid repeating the mistake, or you go off the rails and end up living in a bin or something. Chances are, we’ve all had schoolwork marked in scary aggressive confrontational disapproving red pen before. I certainly have. Some of my schoolwork had more red on it than black after the teacher got done with it. (Those who know me best know that I’m a bitter cynical neurotic shambles, but I can tell you right now, it’s not a red pen’s fault.)
Notice something about children today? They get away with shit we would not have even dreamed about trying. They are spoiled, indulged, arrogant, self-centered, shallow little shits. I usually blame this parents and their parenting skills. (Most people who procreate are dumb = Dumb parents = no parenting skills = dumb child who is also a prick.) I imagine this effect is due to the lack of discipline imposed on these kids in their early years, and the only reason they’re barely tolerable now is whatever scraps and shreds of ego-nullification and discipline they inevitably ran into at school.

So what happens when you take that away? You get a generation of idiot children who don’t know how to handle criticism, who think that they are special and unique and one of the greatest contributors to mankind, and who think that they are never wrong. (Granted, this sounds like Generation Y, but if you think Gen Y is bad, and I certainly fuckin’ do even though I’m one of them, Gen Z can only get worse.)

The ‘You are special’ mentality has done nothing but harm. It has left us with a group of self-entitled little bastards who think, and know, they can get away with anything and everything, because they’re special, and not one of the hordes of self-entitled little bastards just like them. And now they want schools, the last bastion of hope (Yes, it makes me shudder in horror for the future as well) stopping children from becoming completely and utterly useless intrusions into our existence, to stop using some of the only ways to instill humility and self-reliance into children.

I suppose I should offer an idea for a solution, even though it seems like the only logical answer to me. (That’s my fault for expecting logic from government and educational systems.) Criticise the shit out of the little fucks. Use the red pen as often as possible. Don’t hesitate to mark incorrect answers as wrong. Condition them to fear and respect those red scribbles. We avoid what we fear the best way we can, and the best way to avoid those red marks is to actually, you know, do the work, not just throw down some answers and wait to be soothed and cuddled for even the most rudimentary effort. And of course, on the flip side, don’t hold back the praise when it’s deserved. And I mean actually deserved. Some barely literate football playing kid should not receive the same amount of praise as a book reading kid who is literate beyond his age. (Spot the bitterness!) Encourage correct answers or at least correct thought paths to a correct answer. Mark based on how the child thinks, not on how the board of education think children should think. Stop trying to make everything fair and protect the kids from even the most minor adversity. Life isn’t fair and is full of adversities. If you can’t handle a paper marked in red pen you aren’t going to be able to handle being beeped at in traffic or sworn at for being an arrogant shit in a store. There are already enough people like that to begin with. Stop training more of them.

Update: Ashamedly, I’d not been up to speed over at Violent Acres when I wrote this. She has a post on a similar issue. Apparently Australia is just catching up to the US when it comes to the school systems cuddling and whispering reassurances to children. Do read it.

http://www.violentacres.com/archives/422/how-children-cope-with-failure