WORLD AS SCHOOL

If I knew I had 10 minutes to live, and I had no concern for being judged, criticized or being marginalized and made wrong by others, what would I want to say, publicly, out loud, freely? I mean after I have hugged and kissed and said goodbye to all those close to me, what would I want to say about life?

I’ll pretend I have only ten minutes now. So, I say this: “Find a creative, loving, kind, open, respectful way to teach children the things they want to know more about. Delete the hierarchy of rank and authority between children and adults. Just let that overseer authority go. Transform school buildings to meeting rooms for creative and uncreative people in the community, to gather and offer to children exactly what they want to learn.

Get rid of tests and grades and all those tools that require fear, competition, and comparison – separating me from you, and by their very nature, imply children need to be coerced to learn, explore and wonder about things. Make available to all children, experiences, people and teachings that hold the world open, that inspire and transcend all perceived limits. If it is skateboarding, help them build one from scratch. Help them make a cartoon book. A video movie. A tree house. A real house. Let them be around adults that meet them equally, are kind, have a sense of humor, and can hug freely. Take a long bike trip. Allow reading to come naturally as it will. Reading and math aren't difficult. Handling the fear, tension and beliefs about reading and math are.

I’d add, “Go to another country, another neighborhood, another person whose color and language is different, and say hi. Just say hi.