What is crossing the line of education for kids? Are there some things that are better kept from our kids or should we teach them everything?
There are a few very different schools of thought on this topic, with one side vehemently believing kids have a right to know everything; another side arguing scaffolding of knowledge; and another side in favor of withholding knowledge altogether.
However, nobody can agree on this. That's what makes the debate so interesting--literally nobody can agree.
Redditor billymybraggs asked:
What should we stop teaching young children?
Imperfections
"That adults are infallible. My wife and I freely admit to our kid if we've done something wrong or were mistaken, and try to teach him to behave the same. He's only 4 so it's hard because he's still learning even the concept of fallibility, but I'm pretty sure it's helping."
New Nutrition
"Unhealthy relationships with food. Noticing how our relationship with food is covertly communicated to our children. Labeling food as purely "good" or "bad". Forcing children to eat something they don't want to. Sending the message that "vegetables are gross" and are only to be enjoyed through bribery. (Obviously excluding the instances in which children just don't eat.)"
Learning You Were Wrong
"To be ashamed when they're wrong. People should be thrilled to learned they're wrong because it's an opportunity to learn. Instead we shame politicians who 'flip flop' on issues, even if they switch their opinions from something like man/woman marriage to a stance of gay rights support."
"Then we wonder why people straight up deny they're wrong even when you pile a mountain of evidence in front of their dumb faces."
Listening To Our Bodies
"They have to keep eating even when they're full. This isn't about picky eaters or whatever, this is about schools forcing kids to eat ALL of their lunch despite not physically being able to. It's not a healthy mindset."
"Edit since I see people confused: I've personally had to deal with this policy in different schools in both the USA and in Japan. You've probably never encountered this if your school had a buffet or cafeteria style."
Once Again, Remember You Are Worth It
"That they shouldn't ask questions and that adults are always right. I remember growing up and being taught that an adult's words were the truth, and life was so much easier when I discovered that a grown-up was just as capable of being full of it as a child was. Be respectful, but don't blindly accept what's handed to you."
Blood Of The Covenant
"You should never hate anyone in your family."
"If a certain family member did you wrong, never repented, never apologized, never tried to make things right, would gladly fuck you over again and has done so on multiple occasion, you should be free to detest him as much as you like."
"But no, because we are blood-related, that somehow completely erases what he's done."
Good Thoughts
"That ugly = bad/evil. I partially blame TV animation for this one though. Old, ugly, fat or serious looking people are almost always the villains. This often makes kids fear elderly people and make unfair connections between appearance and personality."
Uncomfortability
"That genitals are rude and we shouldn't speak about them. They are private but they aren't rude. We need to teach children correct names for body parts including genitals."
"Also, getting children to be able to verbalize feeling uncomfortable and learning how they feel when they are uncomfortable can be beneficial in stopping grooming in its tracks. Groomers often start with lingering touches that can be easily explained away, but if the child can articulate how the touch made them feel it can help adults to protect children."
Failure As A Teaching Tool
"That "losing" is inherently bad and thus failure is unacceptable. Our daughters' age 6-7 tee-ball/coach-pitch softball team refused to let kids get out and also refused to make them use the tee. There were games the coach literally threw balls to the same kid for 15 minutes straight. The coach was scandalized when we insisted our girls take an out after three swings and misses."
"Instead, we teach our kids that the BEST baseball players fail 2/3 of the time."
"To quote MJ: "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.""
Teach NOT To Bully
"I don't know how many schools do this, but I know it happened to me in both primary and high school, and multiple other people I've spoken to about this who live in my state have said this as well (NSW, Aus) but there's something called "Resilience Training" where they gather bullied kids and tell us that the way to prevent being bullied is to stop making ourselves a target, telling us that we have to try harder to fit in, and how ignoring a bully will make them give up rather then crying or running away. It doesn't help, it just made me, and probably other kids too, feel like more of an outcast and put it in my head that I got bullied because I deserved it."
Perhaps we should give a lot of the lessons we teach children a think.
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