Step Away From the Kool-Aid

By: Natalie Tucker Miller
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:26:42
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"What would you say if a boy does not read fluently by 8, it just stays really hard for him?"

I blinked, refocused my eyes, and read again.

Yes, I read it right the first time.

Although this should not have sent waves of incredulity through me, it had more to do with who asked this question, than the question itself. A woman of heart and mind. A woman who recognizes the illusionary parameters our culture constructs for the sake of safety and control. "I've got to do something before she drinks the Kool-Aid®", I thought.

I am, quite truthfully, accustomed to these concerns. I often grapple for the perfect responses, the responses that will pull the chain and illuminate the proverbial light bulb. Sometimes I get lucky, but more often than not, fear takes the lead. It's not easy going head to head with reactions evolution left behind.

And when you think about it, really really think about it, that is all it is. We, by our very nature, evolve. As we discover more and more about the world around us, we can't help but reassess what we think we already know.

Yet when it comes to education, we let hype, which is often fear disguised as enthusiasm, influence us.

And hype doesn't overtly say "You will be a loser in the gutter if you don't learn to read by the time you're 8". But it might imply, "Johnny can't read because HIS PARENTS are losers in the gutter". Or "This product will make your kids so successful, you won't have to worry about ANYTHING EVER AGAIN!" and "Every problem on the planet will be solved, because your kids were hooked on phonics, not drugs!"

David Gribble introduces his book, Real Education this way: "In conventional schools children are literally prisoners: the law keeps them in. Learning according to inclination is not an option; children's inclinations are not considered relevant; adults tell them what they must learn. They make the best of it and enjoy themselves as much as they can, but they are always under someone else's authority, unable to conduct themselves as they would wish, unable to follow up their own interests. School seems to be designed to destroy their individuality, to turn them all, as the Swiss teacher J?rg Jegge says, into cogwheels that will fit smoothly into the machinery of society."

It would appear that in education, we take evolutionary steps backward. We get mired in unsubstantiated fear. That, my friend, is not a conduit for learning. It's a low-level consciousness that keeps us at bay. Think about it. Do most of the people you know have the courage to live to their potential? Do you? If so, read no more.

For the rest of us, let's ask those courageous individuals who have transcended the confines of conventional rules, what helped them to see their potential.

Chances are you'll hear things like "passion"; "innate interest"; "intrinsic desire"; "nurturing an interest"; "following my heart"; "doing what came naturally"; "knowing I could"; "inspiration"; "a calling"; "field of study that supported strengths". If, and that's a big if, reading fluently by 8 makes the list, I'll bet it's directly related to their passion.

So, back to the 8-year-old boy. Admittedly, I personally know this bright, articulate, fascinating young man, so my answer was really a no-brainer.

"So what?"

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