THE PROBLEM WITH NORMAL

It does not exist. That is the problem with “normal.” It is only a statistical construct that is derived from the common. However, that is just what we are all expected to be, normal. When in reality, “rare” is “normal.” And, so, most of us go through life feeling nothing short of insane. Which is, above all, being or feeling alone. Insanity comes from thinking that whatever we are going through has never been experienced by someone else before. This is one of the biggest problems with the current education system, that by expecting children to be “normal” we drive them insane, because they (we) are by nature not “normal”. The problem is having a school system that expects and forces children, teenagers, and young adults to be “normal”.

Most western children are taught the same subjects, using the same techniques, all at the same pace and in the same setting. Then, they are evaluated with the same standards using the same approach and experience the same consequences that come from standardized results. There are no considerations or whatsoever for any given child’s needs nor wants; not to mention their talents, preferences, and skills. Schooling is treated as an assembly line; it has become a process that breaks “education” into steps that are completed in a predefined sequence. In the process, most of the children’s talents and inclinations are lost. Lost as well are their dreams, their curiosity and creativity, their passion, their motivation and their excitement.

I used to think I was alone in hating school, perhaps I am not alone and maybe I was not “insane” to come up with a new (real or imaginary) disease every other day to convince my parents to let me skip school. Maybe what is weird and is insane is forcing children to go through this monotonous process for at least twenty years of their life. Maybe what is insane is expecting every child to sit still and pay attention for 8 hours per day, to learn the same subjects in the same way, so their personal worth can be evaluated and defined using the same archaic standards. What is insane, yet somehow is not even questioned, is the current education system which incentivizes and puts conformity and obedience at the top of the value hierarchy. What is needed, is an education system where education no longer means indoctrination. A decentralized system that focuses on and rewards uniqueness, a system that does not promote and expect “normalcy.” By uniqueness, I do not mean physical traits (as mandated by DEI standards), but true uniqueness in talent, skill, ability, and preferences.

There are many problems with the current education system. And perhaps what is needed, as Ana Lorena Fabrega in a podcast explained, is not a reformation but several alternative options that allow for and explore new methods. What is needed, first and foremost, is abandoning the “one-size-fits-all” approach which rewards conformity masqueraded as “normal”. What is needed is a decentralized system that takes into account the needs, inclinations, and talents of each child so that it may promote creativity and encourage individuality. What is needed, is a system that promotes a tailored education to fit the circumstances in the environment that surrounds us, that encourages and applauds the “strangeness” in every child so that they will feel the excitement and motivation that is needed to actually learn and excel. In short, an education method that abandons the unrealistic belief that all children learn the same way and at the same speed, that they all need to pursue the same path, that they are all interested in the same subjects and have the same dreams, and that they all have the same personality to fit-in in a predesigned system.