I have noticed an increase in the number of texts, images etc being shared in my social media that implies it was better before… whether this be children respecting adults, writing cursive or children’s right to roam…
My first degree is in history and ancient history - so don’t misunderstand me, I think knowing our past is important, but I also think it is very dangerous when we put rose tinted glasses on how we look at the past - especially when it comes to children, education and play.
Some things were better, some things were much much worse, especially for some children (and adults) - what we should focus on, I think, is what can we learn from the past. What mistakes do we need to avoid - this should be the absolutely first things we need to think of, before we start thinking about what things do we need reminding of.
Despite the fact we do not live in an equitable world yet… we have still come so far compared to even when I was a child.
When I was a child
children could be physically/psychologically harmed as a form of teaching. (punishment/shaming)
it was not safe for LGBTQ children and adults
it was not safe for children with disability - many were still being put into institutions where the care was much more likely to be abusive, and there was little acceptance of children outside the norm
it was not safe for BIPoC children - racist prejudice could mean these children were unfairly treated or were unable to access the education they had the right to
not all women had the right to vote (including in Europe - one canton in Switzerland was as late as the 1990’s before the women there could vote)
not all women had work rights, could own their own business without the permission of a man
many children were expected to be seen and not heard
it wasn’t until 1973 that international laws were passed to make it illegal for children under 18 to do work that was hazardous to health, physical safety and moral well being.
children under the age of 5 were more likely to die than they do today
These are not all points… and many of these have not been fully resolved either - but have seen steps in the right direction. Enough steps to mean that going back in time would be detrimental to a great number of people, the health, safety, well-being and education.
I think what we do need to be doing is slowing down - something I have continuously talked about - not being actually slow - but being unhurried and allowing each child to unfold in his/her own time and together as a community.
Our education system is too individualised - not in the sense of respecting each child as an autonomous being, but that we are being separated into isolated little units that have to compete with other in the ranking system - whether that be grades for the children, or ranking for schools - it’s all about measuring the measurable and sorting it into hierarchal orders as fact as possible with far too little reflection as to how this is actually impacting us.
The list above are examples of mistakes we need to learn from as we move into the future - one that is more
respectful (rather than making children do things through fear)
safe for all children, and not just those that fit the normative narrative
equitable where all humans have equal rights
healthy because we are not exposing children to practices that are mentally, physically, cognitively, emotionally, socially inappropriate for their brain and physical maturity (not age, but actual readiness)
There are of course things we can learn from the past - that longer hours of autonomy was better for mental health (for those children accessing this - remember not all children were given autonomy, or could roam safely etc). That children were able and capable of roaming for much greater distances than what they are being allowed today. We also have to acknowledge the fact that cities have constantly being changing too - often in tune with adults and their cars rather than children - which has made cities less safe and less attractive/navigable for those without cars.
I see that some posts are talking about how children are less respectful of adults these days - and I can see why… we are teaching children that they have rights, and the importance of being democratic, but many places are doing this in authoritarian ways - because that is how the school system is built.
So children are being given the knowledge and tools to be democratic, and then realise they are in a system that is not - of course they are going to challenge the status quo that does not walk the talk it talks.
Also why on earth should we expect children to know how to listen and be respectful of each other if these are skills that are not being taught in the education system? The focus is on reading, writing, debating and passing exams… there is no time for relationships, listening, dialogue and community building - because they are all hard to measure. And what i have noticed is that the older the children get - the worse they get at the community part. And of course children who are in systems that start formal school earlier rather than later - these children have even less time to practice how to socially interact, learn how to self regulate, learn how to listen to understand (rather than listen to reply) and how to be respectful in a diverse community.
The early years tends to focus on these so called “soft skills” - when they are not being forced to schoolify with push-down academics. What we need is push-up play, relationships, community-building and listening throughout the entire school system.
Because mutual respect is a part of that. Currently the school system says there should be mutual respect, but does not have the time to be able to actually respect of the learning needs of all the children, or respect the fact that some children need support to be able to access their rights that the schools talk about, or respect that the children want to share their opinions, try to - but time restraints mean that this have to be disrespected to squeeze in all the curriculum content according to the schedule - regardless of whether all the students have understood it or not (implies they have disrespected some children’s right to an equal education).
All this lack of respect is hardly teaching children how to respect.
And I think this is problematic.
Going back in time to authoritarian times where children who did not understand kept quiet out of fear, where children used all their energy to sit still rather than learn out of fear etc
Of course not all teachers were using cruel tactics - it was enough with one teacher in a school to spread fear. I remember my own primary school had just one teacher that everyone was afraid of - and despite the fact I enjoyed school for the most part, and the teachers I had were enthusiastic and caring - all those teachers also allowed that culture of fear of that one teacher to continue - they did not call that teacher out when they dragged children by the ear from one end of the playground to the other.
I also remember being absolutely terrified one lunch time when the table I was sat at got too noisy for the liking of teachers (we were having lots of fun making jokes) and instead of calmly asking us to quieten down we were humiliated in front of the entire school and told to go to the scary teacher’s classroom later. I still vividly remember walking up those stairs and knocking on the door and standing there vulnerable in front of an adult male known for hurting children. I was not harmed in any way. But having taught for 30 years I know that excited children make loud noises - and maybe finding out what the excitement was should have been the priority together with calming the volume so that it didn’t overwhelm others.
I also remember being forced to eat food I struggled with… but that is a story to tell another time.
It was different before. We should not let nostalgia lead the way for desire to return to how it was. We can though use our memories to learn from mistakes and to try and recreate in ways that work today those elements that were positive - except now make it for everyone.
Image of myself aged 2
as always please share your thoughts and questions