School: Resignation as a protest
- The case of some teachers -
by Maria Teresa De Donato
In
the two previous meetings with my friend and fellow author Horst Költze on the
topic of Education and Freedom, Part One
and Part Two,
we addressed fundamental aspects such as self-awareness, self-awareness and the
role that school should play through its programs in offering each individual
help to develop their unique potential and therefore their creativity.
As
pointed out in these articles, this can only be achieved through freedom. On the contrary, "In the traditional
school system, currently dominated in 76 states by the PISA functionalist study
[Program for International Student Assessment], children and adolescents are
forced to adapt for at least ten years during the growth phase of the brain.
... With forced learning, there is no existential reference to the person, to
the true SELF. This hinders the
development of the brain areas necessary for autogenesis. At the end of the school, the graduates don't
know WHO they are and what they really want".
To
solve this colossal problem, sector professionals have taken action in every
possible way. Among these was Horst
Költze, who tried to underline three fundamental aspects through his
publications:
1)
this frightening gap in the education system;
2)
the devastating impact this education has on children and young people;
3)
the need to make significant changes not only in the teaching programs but,
above all, in the training methods of the teachers themselves.
Even
after he retired, Horst continued his struggle undeterred. The goal is to raise awareness among the
competent authorities, school staff, and parents of students on the need for a
freer education capable of recognizing and maximizing the creative potential of
each student. The realization of this
type of education is desirable not only in Germany, where Horst lives but also
in other countries where the PISA functionalist studio has been used.
Of
course, Horst was not the only teacher aware of the harm done to children and
pupils by such a deficient education system.
Many others have recognized the shortcomings and the need for
change. Unfortunately, some of his
colleagues have failed to continue being part of a system they share neither
assessment techniques nor teaching methods and have taken a drastic decision:
dismissal.
They,
therefore, renounced the profession, with the consequent loss of work and
pension contributions, as a form of denunciation and condemnation of an
educational system that enslaves children and clips their wings from an early
age.
The
article published online in the education magazine News4Teachers entitled
"The School System Makes You Sick": Why a Primary School Teacher
Resigns from Civil Service - Her Reasoning in Wording, This Teacher Forgoes Her
Lifetime Support as a civil servant, therefore, represents a living and
personal document of the ABUSE of education, which emerged clearly in the
interview with the educational writer Horst Költze on the theme "EDUCATION
AND FREEDOM," mentioned above.
In
the resignation letter to the Munich State Education Authority of March 16,
2022-Schulrat 12-80313 Munich, this teacher explains the reasons for her
drastic decision of her, starting with a question:
"Why
do so many children lose the joy of learning after a short time in
school?"
According
to the content of her letter, the reasons are various:
1) Children become "objects of expectation"
while their personal and family situation with all sorts of related problems is
completely ignored. The high level of
frustration and anger leads to the phenomenon of bullying, now widespread in
all schools.
2)
Violation of human rights, United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities and United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: age, "origin, ethnicity, skin color, gender,
educational level of parents, first name and poverty of one's parents" are
all discriminating factors and devoid of the “inclusion” aspect, above all
concerning people with disabilities. The
atmosphere in the school, especially in the state one, is that of "experience
of domination and hierarchical communication, not of participation."
3) Concept of learning: learning in school is
based on the erroneous assumption that "the content of knowledge can be
transferred from one person to another, whether they like it or not." This is not true, as the brain not only stores
data, it filters it. (MY NOTE: Because
of this, we easily learn and remember some things, while others have difficulty
understanding them and quickly forget them anyway.)
4)
Compulsory education (distinct from
mandatory education) and compulsory learning contradict many fundamental human
rights. Therefore, to "have an
integrating function in a free society, we must finally abolish compulsory
schooling."
5)
The school system makes students and teachers sick alike.
This
is illustrated by the high rates of symptoms seen in school-age children and
adolescents, such as headaches, abdominal pain, back pain, and sleep
disturbances, to name a few.
This
teacher was not the only one to make an "extreme gesture." Another
case that we can cite is precisely that of Gunnar Kaiser.
In
his interview with Gunnar
Kaiser - "I won't do it anymore," published on the YouTube channel of the RESPECT
platform, Kaiser explained his reasons for quitting. The way Covid was managed and hearing the
authorities and, therefore, of the media, stating that we would not have gone
back to normality, at least according to the usual meaning of the term, was, in
his case, the straw that broke the camel's back. On the contrary, all the restrictions and
social changes adopted due to the pandemic, even concerning the limits imposed
on freedom, would become the new normality.
The freedoms stolen or at least limited by the pandemic would never be
restored.
Gunnar
Kaiser asks an interesting question: "Have we ever really experienced
democracy if we give it up so quickly?"
Perhaps
the time has come to break the conventional mold and embrace the world of ideas
and lofty ideals, regardless of what we are used to doing or seeing around
us. Perhaps we should stop wondering if
something is "normal" and instead ask ourselves if it is
"legitimate" and what the implications are.
Gunnar
Kaiser has, therefore, also given up teaching for various reasons, many of
which are contained in the resignation letter that his colleague from Munich
sent to the School Authority of her area.
Being
fully aware of the problem and having a conscience that recognizes that the
educational system, as it is designed and functioning, is doing more harm than
good to the students and the teachers themselves marks the point of no return.
Be
aware of the difficulties students are facing
•
in keeping up with programs they are not interested in at all;
•
in being assessed through tests based on their academic performance; and
•
in dealing with the shame of failure and bullying among peers.
This
makes these teachers feel entirely helpless as if they are faced with a rubber
wall and consequently unable to make any significant changes to the system.
Many
teachers, therefore, decide to make drastic career changes. They give up secure jobs in the public sector
and the resulting pension contributions and resign from their position. They do not want to feel responsible for the
education system's failure and the damage it does to students. Therefore, for a matter of coherence and
conscience, they avoid being part of it.
Hence,
regardless of the personal choices of each teacher, in the countries where the
PISA functional system is used, the school fails miserably in what should be
its purpose and very raison d'etre: the promotion of expressive creativity and
the development and maximum exploitation of each student's potential.
