Moving on to Mastiff's next comment.
Most schools tend to beat the love of learning out of students. For full arguments, refer to John Taylor Gatto, who makes the point at length. Suffice to say that students seem to break into four classes: those who would be voracious learners no matter what obstacles are placed in their path; those who would not care regardless; those who would otherwise love learning, except for the deadening, soul-crushing format of the Prussian-style school system (of whom there are far too many); and the rare, blessed few who would have spent their lives in darkness, were it not for the intervention of a single, providential teacher who somehow kindled a spark.
Absolutely true. Of all the comments that Mastiff made, this one resonated with me the most. The fact of the matter is that many schools are terribly oppressive places and crush the souls of many young people. Combine this with several teachers who refuse to adjust their pedagogy to include multiple instructional strategies and you have several sparks that are left without that spark.
My mother and I were talking about this "single, providential teacher" of which Mastiff speaks right around the time he put this in comments so it really hit home. All it takes is one adult and a small amount of attention to complexity and you can have a roaring fire in a student. It's important to note that there are so many students whose parents are just fucking checked out. They don't give a shit about their kids and are extraordinarily self centered.
This results in many students that are searching for that one adult who will engage them and possibly change their life forever. This should be the central goal of every educator. Sadly (and because I am a functionalist), the system's impersonality and drive for uniformity, at times, inhibits this interaction.
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