On Education: Pitfalls of Contemporary Educational Institutions

Yocelin Santamaria

The contemporary educational institutions, as they currently exist in America, were conceived to stifle the individual.

To clarify: the modern American education system as it pertains to public schooling was modeled by Horace Mann, initially in Massachusetts, for he had been the secretary of education, to which he had quickly established the “common school” model, which had been heavily influenced by the Prussian model of education devised in the 18th century. Connecticut began to adopt this system in 1849, which entailed mandatory education for all children. The educational system itself was conceived to provide equal material to the children, who were involuntarily attending school. The model of education emphasizes memorization, obedience, absolute attention, collectivism, stifling individual identity to favor the collective learning experience; this is remarkably similar to the model of soldiering in the Kingdom of Prussia, in which line formations, drumming beats, harsh reprimands, and frequent marches were bred to destroy a sense of self, and to create obedience.

There is no personal agency emphasized, no creativity, and any mere expressions or derivatives thereof, that deviate from the model are met with much resistance, as detentions, suspensions, and referrals are distributed among all dissenters. But is this model sufficient? Is there a better way to educate these children adequately? Of course; this model is nominally designated as the “libertarian model”.

The libertarian model of education entails an emphasis on individual student agency and their ability to take personal responsibility for their work. No more shall students be reprimanded for inattention, nor scolded for misunderstandings, instead they shall be permitted to do as they please, attend as they desire, and work individually. To answer the inquiries you likely have conceptualized by the mere reading of this plan, let’s begin with the most important, “How will the children learn if they are not required to pay attention?”, the answer to this question is one of agency, as children possess the option to pay attention or not, and if they shan’t pay attention, this will be reflected in their grades. Failure to submit assignments shall lead to poor grades, that will lead to ramifications at home and later in life, which empowers personal responsibility. Of course, one may imagine this still resembles the Prussian model, though I disagree with such a notion, as this libertarian model entails a lack of immediate, tangible reprimands, but instead future ramifications for failure, which merely harkens back to my reiterated point of responsibility and personal interest.

Assignments must not be based upon how it is done, rather the assignments would be completed in no particularly uniform manner, allowing students to complete assignments how they see fit. Interaction with other students shan’t be enforced, and individuals must be permitted to act as social or anti-social as they desire without incursion of administrative forces to stifle the right of the individual. The libertarian model emphasizes deadlines, completion, and results over process or interaction.

Some may argue that many students would not work well in this setup, accounting for deficiencies in responsibility, intelligence, and other conditions, and to that I say the adequate punitive measures and responsibilities fall upon the parents of such students, who must actively participate in their child’s education. The schools are merely the educators, not enforcers of innumerable rules and stipulations, and all that is integral is the submission of assignments at an appropriate date.

In summary, the modern Prussian model of education is oppressive to the individual, and enforces a collectivist and social policy with the threat of scholarly incursion, dictating how an individual must interact with others and complete their work, creating an environment unfit for education. Thereby a libertarian, meritocratic, and results-based model of education must be implemented to repair the prior transgressions schools have beheld students to in the past.