"On the first day of school, the little boy waved to his mother and turned to run down the bright hallway to class. His teacher smiled and pointed out his desk. "This is going to be great," he thought. "I love to learn new things." After a few fun stories, the teacher handed out crayons and paper and announced that it was time to draw a picture. The little boy enthusiastically grabbed the crayons and began to imagine all the things he could draw: moutains, lakes, airplanes, his family, his dog, the ocean, the stars at night...
Hundreds of ideas raced through his creative little mind.
His teacher, seeing that he had started drawing, stopped him and said that today the class would be drawing flowers. The boy's mind again ran wild: daisies, daffodils, roses, carnations, violets, lilacs, pansies, mixed bouquets, green gardens full of rainbows of color...
The teacher again interrupted, informing the class that today they would be drawing a certain kind of flower.
Taking colored chalk, the teacher went to the board and drew a green stem, with two leaves, and four identicle pink petals. The little boy, eager to please, dutifully copied her drawing.
After several attempts, his drawing looked exactly like hers. The teacher congratulated him for doing such good work.
As the school year passed, the little boy became a very good student; he learned to listen, obey instructions and get the right answers on tests. His parents were very proud of him, and his teacher was impressed with his excellent progress.
When the next school year arrived, the boy had done so well in his classes that he was enrolled in an accelerated program. During the first week of class, the teacher handed out crayons and paper and announced that it was time to draw a picture. The little boy, still in love with art, enthusiastically picked up his crayons and waited for instructions.
After several minutes the teacher noticed that the little boy wasn't drawing. "Why haven't you started?" she asked. "Don't you like to draw?"
"I love to draw," responded the little boy, "but I was waiting for you to tell us what the assignment is."
"Just draw whatever you want," the teacher smiled and left thet little boy to his creativity.
The little boy sat for a long time, watching the minutes tick off the clock and wondering what he should draw. Nothing came to mind.
Finally, in a burst of creative inspiration, he picked up his crayons and began to draw:
A green stem, with two leaves, and four identical pink petals."
The story is indicative of an entire generation of American education, which has been called "the cloning of the American mind." Fortunately, the tragedy is not complete because many parents across the nation are reaffirming their role in educating their children."
"A Thomas Jefferson Education" by Oliver Van DeMiller
Before someone asks, this is about education in general....public, private & homeschool...in all these arenas "the cloning" might be happening. It's our job, as parents, to ensure it's not happening in the arena we have our children being educated.
