John Holt believes that schools have failed children because they provide an environment that encourages fear and failure. He states that the atmosphere in schools only suppresses a child’s native curiosity, which makes a child afraid of taking risks and chances which are essential attributes for any learning to occur. In addition to that, teachers take up the roles of parents of pushing the children towards certain targets without trying to consult the children forgetting that these targets will only meet the teacher’s needs and not the children’s’ feelings.
John Holt’s suggestion on these shortcomings is abolishing compulsory school attendance or just the modification of classes in that children do not have to attend all the classes. He argues that at one point in, time these compulsory class attendance rules were humane regulations; but have since lost meaning today (Holt, 1969). Furthermore, Holt holds a belief that holding a student in the class who does not want to be there only brings trouble to the rest of the class because that student does not really learn anything and makes it tough for others to learn too. He argues that keeping them out of school will enable them to learn more about the world at first hand.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
However, I do not find these suggestions by Holt realistic because children need to be in school for any serious learning to take place. Students being together in a classroom provides a conducive environment for learning, not just from one another but also encouraging one another to exploit their limits. Moreover, it is an opportunity to expose students to other students of diverse cultures and beliefs in one place which fosters healthy interaction and also growth; physically, emotionally and mentally.
Reference
Holt, J. (1969, February 8). School is bad for children. Saturday Evening Post . Retrieved from http://www.naturalchild.org/john_holt/school_is_bad.html
