Posts by Kerry Weston
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
How about giving the kids a siesta in the middle of the day? Could be an opportunity to have marae style dinners and "sleepovers" in the middle of the day. I think they have this style of siesta in France?
And don't forget to add in all the sick days kids have - you can expect each child to have at least 10 days off sick a year, unless they're strappingly healthy.
One option I've seen work well is an extended family - mum, dad & four kids live in one wing of the house, granny & a brother have their own sleep/living quarters and they share kitchen/laundry/garden. Granny looks after the kids after school & when sick, unless they're really crook, sometimes they go to a care place after school & hols (for variety or if it gets too much for gran).
Rampant capitalism depends on splitting family or communal units up - individuals have to buy "their own" everything, rather than share. The pendulum will swing back, I reckon and people will start developing living situations that are much more flexible - sharing chores, childcare etc but having a separate personal space where they can be private.
-
--I was empower by one of the Norman Kirk airer state run alternative schools. Coming to thing of it that was a pretty cunning way of hiding problem children. They simply run the school as a democracy, thats an alternative school.--
A school run as a democracy - fabulous idea. With all the challenges to get inspirational about, the Headmaster at my son's school chooses hair length and bullying parents to pay fees as his pet obsessions. Of course school boards, who employ them, get captured by certain types of empire builders who actually represent the interests of very few in the community. Most regular people simply don't have time.
-
Ah, the light dawns... my 14 & 17 yr olds are a consequence of the shagging wave . Come to think of it, we did spend a lot of time in bed keeping warm back then.
As to keeping kids in school till 18 - let's have the substance. Are schools going to get ever-larger? As they aim to bring down teacher student ratios as well, where are all the extras going to be housed? Will there be meaningful, properly-resourced, alternative programmes for ADHD, Asperger's, autistic kids? Will there at last be full-on literacy programmes for those who still can't read & comprehend well at 3rd form level? Will the load fall on teachers or are there going to be more specialists - mentors, youth workers, tradespeople?
One day we might actually give students what they need rather than what we think they should have, no matter how ill-fitting the garment.