A sample of current thought and practice will show that on the subject of children we are very deeply confused. That is because, a child used to be nothing but a stage in the process of that continual remanufacturing of the Life Stuff by which the human race is perpetuated. That is how nature intended it and that is how things have proceeded for centuries together.
Today, however, a child is an experiment. Every child entering this planet is a fresh attempt to produce the perfect model. The version that will not or dare not be scrapped and remanufactured, because it is the ultimate in power and intellect and virtues.
And so, with all the passion and enthusiasm of a baker at the sight of raw flour ready to be mixed and flattened and rolled into bread of different shapes and sizes and stuffing, man begins the pious, sanctified task of parenting.
And it would appear that every parent knows exactly what the ultimate human being ought to look like and be able to do, because they have prepared the mould even before the child has arrived, and parenting is all about fitting the child into the precast mould ….that’s it.
Imagine how absurd the entire picture looks from the outside. Parent and child are unable to even walk a few yards at the same pace and talking the same language, without distress and final loss of physical and / or mental health to one of the parties. When they are sitting indoors they cannot endure the same degrees of temperature, there is a huge difference in acceptable decibel levels of audio equipment, and parameters applied to judge the orderliness of a room by one, sounds ludicrous to the other. So how do parents propose to force their children to adapt their academics, interests, skills, choice of partner, such that it fits the moulds preconceived and prepared by the parent?
Aiding and abetting parents in this absurd exercise is another well meaning but equally misled group – schools – they are the ones to whom parents have entrusted the onerous task of testing and checking and reporting if they are successfully progressing towards stuffing their children into moulds. We have been taught (that is, schooled) to think of "success" as synonymous with, or at least dependent upon, "schooling," but historically that isn't true and totally unproven.
Ultimtaely, this is the message that must be served to the previous generation - I know you love us and care about us truly and honestly. I know that everything you do for us is driven by a desire to express that love for us. But I am not an experiment. At least not in your labs. For, much before you, and unknown to you, nature has been conducting her own experiment, much larger in size and purpose than yours. With each attempt, she is moving toward just that – the perfect man...... that is, to make humanity divine.
If you will regard a child as so much material for you to manufacture into any shape that happens to suit your fancy you are defeating the experiment of the Life Force.
You are assuming that the child does not know its own business, and that you do. In this you are sure to be wrong: for, the child feels the drive of the Life Force (often called the Will of God); and you cannot feel it for him.
And it is this force that will provide for him and keep him safe, long after you have gone.
?

I will therefore seize this opportunity to address all parents and educators here, this morning and hope you will carry the message forward for us – I know you love us and care about us truly and honestly. I know that everything you do for us is driven by a desire to express that love for us. But I am not an experiment. At least not in your labs. For, much before you, and unknown to you, nature has been conducting her own experiment, much larger in size and purpose than yours. With each attempt, she is moving toward just that – the perfect man...... that is, to make humanity divine. And she has her own way of stubbing out the models that are potentially dangerous to the overall balance of life, and perpetuate only those models that align within her code of conduct.
You will vitiate that experiment if you make the slightest attempt to abort me into some fancy figure of your own. If you will regard a child as so much material for you to manufacture into any shape that happens to suit your fancy you are defeating the experiment of the Life Force.
You are assuming that the child does not know its own business, and that you do. In this you are sure to be wrong: for, the child feels the drive of the Life Force (often called the Will of God); and you cannot feel it for him.
And it is this force that will provide for him and keep him safe, long after you have gone.
?

Now, despite my rather domineering attitude, I will confess I have little or no knowledge on what should or should not make up school education. But again, based on pure empirical evidence and self inflicted wounds, I can vouch that the subjects now taught in schools ought to convince any reasonable person that the object of the lessons is to keep children tied and gagged in a room and out of mischief, rather than the preservation of a world order that relies on the full commitment of every generation of citizens. Our schools are just an extension centre of our parent’s labs .... factories in which children are to be shaped and fashioned .... to be built according to specifications laid down.

If David Farragut could take command of a captured British warship as a pre-teen, if Thomas Edison could publish a broadsheet at the age of twelve, if Ben Franklin could apprentice himself to a printer at the same age then put himself through a course of study that would choke a student of Harvard today, there's no telling what your own kids could do.

Even if the Life Force either will not or cannot achieve immortality- not even in very low organisms: indeed it is by no means ascertained that even the amoeba is immortal.?
?
If this technology driven world has taught us one crucial lesson – then surely it must be that it is people with absolutely no imagination who will attempt to make things which will last forever. Modern man knows very well that it is waste of labor to make a machine that will last ten years, because it will probably be superseded in half that time by an improved machine answering the same purpose.
Yet when it comes to furthering his own race, he is tempted. He will try anything to perpetuate his life and existence on earth. No matter, if the Life Force either will not or cannot achieve immortality- not even in very low organisms: indeed it is by no means ascertained that even the amoeba is immortal. Man is realist enough to eschew the insane self-conceit of believing that an eternity of himself would be tolerable even to himself. So he tries the next best alternative- if not me, then it should be mine.
So, this brings us to the core of our discussion – that is - who or what is a Child? A sample of current thought and practice will show that on the subject of children we are very deeply confused. That is because, a child used to be nothing but a stage in the process of that continual remanufacture of the Life Stuff by which the human race is perpetuated. That is how nature intended it and that is how things have proceeded for centuries together.
Today, however, a child is an experiment. Every child entering this planet is a fresh attempt to produce the perfect model. The version that will not or dare not be scrapped and remanufactured, because it is the ultimate in power and intellect and virtues.
And so, with all the passion and enthusiasm of a............................ baker at the sight of raw flour ready to be mixed and flattened and rolled into bread of different shapes and sizes and stuffing, man begins the pious, sanctified task of parenting.
And it would appear that every parent knows exactly what the ultimate human being ought to look like and be able to do, because they have prepared the mould even before the child has arrived, and parenting is all about fitting the child into the precast mould ….that’s it.
You cannot begin to imagine how absurd the entire picture looks from the outside. Because, for a while now I have started observing the behavioral patterns of parents and children and believe me – they are unable to even walk a few yards at the same paceand talking the same language, without distress and final loss of physical and / or mental health to one of the parties. When they are sitting indoors they cannot endure the same degrees of temperature, or the same supplies of fresh air outside; there is a huge difference in acceptable decibel levels of audio equipment, and parameters applied to judge the orderliness of a room by one, sounds ludicrous to the other. So how do parents propose to force their children to adapt his academics, interests, skills, choice of partner, such that it fits the moulds preconceived and prepared by the parent?
Aiding and abetting parents in this absurd exercise is another well meaning but equally determined group – the institutions set up or so they proclaim – for the explicit purpose of
Aiding and abetting parents in this absurd exercise is another well meaning but equally determined group – schools – they are the ones to whom parents have entrusted the onerous tests and checks and report if they are successfully progressing towards stuffing their children into moulds.
Now, despite my rather domineering attitude, I will confess I have little or no knowledge on what or what should not make up school education. But again, based on pure empirical evidence and self inflicted wounds, I can vouch that the subjects now taught in schools ought to convince any reasonable person that the object of the lessons is to keep children tied and gagged in a room and out of mischief, rather than the preservation of a world order that relies on the full commitment of every generation of citizens. Going through the motions in a purposeless manner year after year is a prescription for apathy and cynicism and sets the stage for alienation from active civic participation later in life. If schools are to live up to their essential role in preparing students to be full citizens in our society, they must encourage them to engage in their communities in constructive ways. The decline in civic purpose amongst us can be traced directly back to the psychological effects of disengagement. Working hard is not our problem; our problem is working without knowing why we are striving.
"Our schools are just an extension centre of our parent’s labs .... factories in which children are to be shaped and fashioned .... to be built according to the specifications laid down."
We have been taught (that is, schooled) to think of "success" as synonymous with, or at least dependent upon, "schooling," but historically that isn't true and totally unproven.
World leaders like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, inventors, like Edison; captains of industry like Carnegie and Rockefeller; writers, like Twain; all have one thing in common: not one of them ever "graduated" from a secondary school.
If David Farragut could take command of a captured British warship as a pre-teen, if Thomas Edison could publish a broadsheet at the age of twelve, if Ben Franklin could apprentice himself to a printer at the same age then put himself through a course of study that would choke a student of Harvard today, there's no telling what your own kids could do.
I will therefore seize this opportunity to address all parents and educators here, this morning and hope you will carry the message forward for us – I know you love us and care about us truly and honestly. I know that everything you do for me is driven by a desire to express that love for me. But I am not an experiment. At least not in your labs. For, much before you, and unknown to you, nature has been conducting her own experiment, much larger in size and purpose than yours. With each attempt, she is moving toward just that – the perfect man...... that is, to make humanity divine. And she has her own way of stubbing out the models that are potentially dangerous to the overall balance of life, and perpetuate only those models that align within her code of conduct.
You will vitiate that experiment if you make the slightest attempt to abort me into some fancy figure of your own. If you will regard a child as so much material for you to manufacture into any shape that happens to suit your fancy you are defeating the experiment of the Life Force.
You are assuming that the child does not know its own business, and that you do. In this you are sure to be wrong: for, the child feels the drive of the Life Force (often called the Will of God); and you cannot feel it for him.
And it is this force that will provide for him and keep him safe, long after you have gone.
?


Believe me, in my school as maybe in all others, genius is as common as dirt. We suppress our genius because we are busy darkening bubbles and marking ticks and crosses in school. We can see that that’s what you want, and we don’t have the strength to hurt you.







All you can do is offer a prayer that your child will always be led by and abide by the will of God.

?

A 12 year tenure (I prefer to call it internment) in these institutions is purported to roll out the brightest, fastest, sharpest and strongest, such is their faith in their system of education

First, though, we must wake up to what our schools really are: laboratories of experimentation on young minds, drill centers for the habits and attitudes that corporate society demands.
And that he will always be led, guided and protected by the will of God.
?
If this technology driven world has taught us one crucial lesson – then surely it must be that it is people with absolutely no imagination who will attempt to make things which will last forever. Modern man knows very well that it is waste of labor to make a machine that will last ten years, because it will probably be superseded in half that time by an improved machine answering the same purpose.
Yet when it comes to furthering his own race, he is tempted. He will try anything to perpetuate his life and existence on earth. No matter, if the Life Force either will not or cannot achieve immortality- not even in very low organisms: indeed it is by no means ascertained that even the amoeba is immortal. Man is realist enough to eschew the insane self-conceit of believing that an eternity of himself would be tolerable even to himself. So he tries the next best alternative- if not me, then atleast mine. (made by me)
So, this brings us to the core of our discussion – that is - who or what is a Child? A sample of current thought and practice will show that on the subject of children we are very deeply confused. That is because, a child used to be nothing but a stage in the process of that continual remanufacture of the Life Stuff by which the human race is perpetuated. That is how nature intended it and that is how things have proceeded for centuries together.
Today, however, a child is an experiment. Every child entering this planet is a fresh attempt to produce the perfect model. The version that will not or dare not be scrapped and remanufactured, because it is the ultimate in power and intellect and virtues.
And so, with all the passion and enthusiasm of a............................ baker at the sight of raw flour ready to be mixed and flattened and rolled into bread of different shapes and sizes and stuffing, man begins the pious, sanctified task of parenting.
And apparently all of them know exactly what a human being ought to be, and the most successful of one of them is the one who stopped at nothing in their determination to force their children into their moulds.
You cannot begin to imagine how absurd the entire picture looks from the outside. Because, its been a while now since I have seen parents and children walk a few yards at the same pace without distress and final loss of physical and / or mental health to one of the parties. When they are sitting indoors they cannot endure the same degrees of temperature, or the same supplies of fresh air outside; there is a huge difference in acceptable decibel levels of audio equipment, and parameters applied to judge the orderliness of a room by one, sounds ludicrous to the other. So how do parents propose to force their children to match their interests in the larger and more profound areas of life?
So we examine the role of the institutions set up or so they proclaim – for the explicit purpose of teaching children to focus on the larger and more profound areas of life – the school. A 12 year tenure (I prefer to call it internment) in these institutions is purported to roll out the brightest, fastest, sharpest and strongest, such is their faith in their system of education.
To my mind, a glance at the subjects now taught in schools ought to convince any reasonable person that the object of the lessons is more to keep children tied and gagged in a room and out of mischief, rather than to qualify them for their part in life as responsible citizens, forget about leaders and social reformers.


Not one lesson that taught me to think,
No wonder then that

So here I am, on the threshold of taking my legitimate place in the world, hopefully having had my character and my innards moulded and crafted and designed and developed by parents and school.
I have just one request of all parents and educators here – I know you love us and care about us truly and honestly. I know that everything you do for me is driven by a desire to express that love for me. But I am not an experiment. At least not in your labs. For much before you, and unknown to you, nature has been conducting her own experiment. With each attempt, she is moving toward just that – the perfect man...... that is, to make humanity divine. And she has her own way of stubbing out the models that are potentially dangerous to the overall balance of life, and perpetuate only those models that align with her code of conduct.
So, you will vitiate that experiment if you make the slightest attempt to abort me into some fancy figure of your own. If you will regard a child as so much material for you to manufacture into any shape that happens to suit your fancy you are defeating the experiment of the Life Force.
You are assuming that the child does not know its own business, and that you do. In this you are sure to be wrong: the child feels the drive of the Life Force (often called the Will of God); and you cannot feel it for him.
And it is this force that will provide for him and keep him safe, long after you have gone. All you can do is offer a prayer, that (nature)
And that he will always be led, guided and protected by the will of God.