I love mornings with my duo on our way to school. On one of the iciest winter days this month – it wasn’t the day of the historic July snow, but it was still cold – we did our usual affirmations and intention setting together. I don’t always do gratitude sharing with the kids but included it; there was clearly some inspiration.

 

After we were done, my firstborn said: “I actually like the drive to school. I look forward to coming into the car, it’s my favourite part of the day”.  Yes! He gets it, they both get it.

 

EQ vs IQ

 

My Rock Star’s comment brought the issue of intelligence top of mind again. There’s been an increasing focus on emotional intelligence over the years and when I look around at the state of the world, I know that this is where our focus should be.

 

I’ve been questioning society’s expectations of intelligence and how it links to success. There’s this assumption that good school performance leads to a happy, fulfilled life. I recall my mother having long telephone conversations with her best friend who had emigrated to Australia – if you think the South Africans leaving today is new, nope. They’re just leaving for different reasons – proudly saying along the lines of “I don’t have a problem with my kids at school. They’re doing well”.

 

The academics of school wasn’t really a struggle, at least I don’t remember it that way. It was more about being boring, there was never a link between what one was studying and real life. All the ‘smart’ kids automatically did maths and science, usually labelled the ‘A’ class. What the heck was that about? I’m here to testify that my ‘book smart’ did not set me up for any level of happiness or fulfilment. My latent emotional turmoil made sure that I was tripped up again and again, well into my 30s.

 

What is school for?

 

So, when my 8-year-old lastborn asks, “Why can’t I use a calculator?”, I struggle to find a convincing response. I can’t do some of the work they have at their level and must pull out my calculator. And they’re all around. You don’t even need a physical one like we used in the ‘olden’ days. There’s one on the phone, laptop. I’ve never tried but I’m sure if you asked Google some maths problems, you’d get an answer.  

 

When I received a Seth Godin podcast titled “What is school for?” sent by my dear brother, A, I had to jump in. To ask this question, we must first understand the history of our school system. What Seth shared wasn’t all new to me, but he pulls it out nicely as he always does.

 

Essentially, he opines that school is about teaching obedience since it’s a product of the industrial era to train people to work in factories. You know, rote learning, repetition. Hey, isn’t that what machines do? He raises another interesting point about school also being a place to train people to buy stuff, to be consumers. No argument there. We go to school to get a job to afford more and more stuff.  And if you don’t, your self-esteem is in tatters.

 

Educate the individual

 

Seth says many insightful, delightful things about this system that has become enmeshed in our society. He shares what he believes needs to change but the one that really struck a chord, as I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, is that we should not be educating our children en masse. We need “precise, focused education”.

 

School in its current form is “more about work and less about art”. I agree with him. We’re all born creators and so no amount of artificial intelligence is going to take that away, but that’s a discussion for another day. It raises the question of why we ‘force’ an artistic child to do maths throughout their school career when numbers may terrify them. By the way, this is just one example of millions of permeations.

 

It’s because we never take the time to understand what each child is passionate about. My instinct tells me – I’ve always declared that I’m not an educational professional, just a parent observing – that early childhood development is about teaching children language, to communicate and yes, we should throw in basic maths and things like art, culture and recently, robotics. Anything to give them exposure to a broad spectrum so that they can identify their passion and explore their special talents. It’s innate to every soul.

 

End generic programming

 

But this generic programme should end at age 9. By then, we should understand what they are interested in, what they love. At this point they should go on to follow a learning path that is specifically curated for their individual growth and development. Idealistic?  Maybe. If I encourage my kids to dream, so can I.

 

Do you really care about the Michelin Star chef’s high school geography score when you’re having that gastronomic orgasm? Do you wonder how your favourite musician ranked in his or her or their science assessments when you’re singing along at the top of your voice and in high spirits? Do you even care if they went to school? I would answer no.

 

But perhaps you do wonder about qualifications when you’re lying open-mouthed and vulnerable on the reclined chair of your maxillo-facial surgeon. Or when you send your tax return to your accountant or need your eyes tested for new specs.

 

The point is that there are some careers that require specific qualifications that are catered for by the current system. The reality is that there’s a myriad of other careers that have not emerged as yet in this digital era and are not accommodated under the guise of today’s education.

 

In South Africa, the acid in the wound is that the government has failed so dismally that business has stepped in with vigour. The education sector is a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity. I still can’t get over the fact that some private school groups are listed on the stock exchange. Investors only care about the numbers.  

 

If we want to change the world, we have to continue the discourse on “What is school for?”. We stop when we get a response that meets our children’s unique and individual journeys.