tie . whole being is tuned into growth—in body and in~-pick up that key and turn it * Before a child enters school, he is, inalmost all -hearts.are o.k. cases, eager, excited, and anxious to learn. His ach’ teacher: must want to mind. 2 ae —_ Everything the young child does at this pre-school ; age is of a learning nature. Almost everything he sees and. does is a new ex- perience. It is an exciting ‘time for a parent to watch this ‘coming of age’. Then, something strange happens. The child: goes to school, full of a desire for: new experiences, new learning. And for.so many, the fun and the joy come toa dull, grinding halt. — What ‘happens bchind those hallowed halls’ of learning? What. does the student run into that. takes away the eagerness to learn? “ Jim McDowell has a few thoughts on the subject with And that last bitter.remark about the learning they are a rather provocative title. Read on... norin shore news 1 139 Lonsdale Avenue, ; - North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 " OFFICEINEWS (604) 980-0511 CLASSIFIED | 986-6222 CIRCULATION 986-1337" Associate Publisher Bob Graham Editor-in-Chief Noel Wright Managing Editor Andy Fraser News Editor Chris Loyd Photos Elsworth Dickson Advertising Director Eric Cardwett Traffic Manager Donna Champion Production Tim Francis Faye McCrae Classified Bemil Hillard Circulation Consuttant Gordon Shave Administration Andrew Wattera Accounts Syivia Sorenson North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent community newspaper and qualified under Sch 111, Part 111, Paragraph 111 of the xclise Tax Act, is published each ednesday and day by the North Shore Free Presa Ltd. and distributed to avery door on the North Store Second Class Mail Registration Number 3865 VERIFIED CIRCULATION 49,503 — Entire contente® 1978 North Shore Free Proes Lid. Ali rights reserved. Lee ~ ARE SCHOOLS _ “MENTAL ASYLUMS"? By JIM McDOWELL “That school is-a prison!” shouted Bobby. “Yeah, here ‘we are back at fhe old jailhouse,” added Mike. “It’s a merital asylum, I hate it!” _ snapped Sharon. : _ These gripes flew around the back of the bus as we returned to school from an all day field trip to greet Willy de Roos on his arrival in. Vancouver, after saili alone across the Northwest Passage. I'd heard them all before. But’ this time the “complaints surprised me, because the Kids’. mood had been so mellow all day. Now this sudden flurry of rage. by Sharon pushed me to ask myself a flood of questions. Are schools mental asylums? Who are the . patients? Who has the most patience inside the place— teachers or students? Who's in. charge? Is it a treat to be there or a treatment? What _{s an asylum, and what kind of mental activity is it set up for? According to the high school edition of the Thorndike Dictionary an “asylum” is a- refuge or shelter where a person can count on support and care. So a “mental asylum” should be a refuge that supports mental activity. That makes sense if the patients are seen as people who have plenty of mental power; it’s just misdirected. . What they need is a safe place to strengthen them- selves and get some support. But most of us see them as “unfortunate” persons, ‘and that’s where the trouble Starts. Is that one of the things Sharon hated about school? I asked myself. Was she fed- up with being treated as an “unfortunate” -person, a ““deprived’’ child, a “weirdo,” “freak,” “retard” when she knew she was o.k. “Sure, I have problems,” she would tell me. “Who doesn’t? But I'm not stupid, you know. They all act like I can’t do anything.” What would it take to make our schools real mental asylums—safe places for young people to develop their mental powers? In my Opinion, not much. With a little common sense we could get lots of changes that would let our schools do much more for students and waste much less talent and money doing it. The key that could unlock learning for students has to be used first to unlock the minds of teachers. Their -chores, schedule changes, - are enthusiastic and eager to oer, TO ar ery Sunday) 2 ye tioes Tel:.669-2412. Arrivals/Dere cargo Tel: 273-4856 _ “The church used to be an asylum for. a debtor or a = criminal. No one could drag such a person from the altar.. Suppose. teachers put that... into. practice . in “their classrooms. As long as: a student was .caught-up . in learning, no-one could drag . him away from it..- Most teachers would like to work that way. What stands in their way? Kids who don’t want to learn? A barrage of bells, an- nouncements, useless and other interruptions? Or is it perhaps their own fears, and ignorance? All. the pre-school youngsters that I’ve ever met learn. They are excited doing on their own. When we send them to school, the rot sets in. It’s in school that they learn not to want to learn. . “ : And the interruptions of the system could all be managed better if teachers wanted to. I think these are just excuses to keep from looking at the real problem. My experience shows me that most teachers are afraid. The energy for spontaneous learning which kids bring with them to school scares most teachers. They don’t know how to respond to it; and neither would most: parents if they were put in the classroom, “But teachers are sup- posed to know,” you may gay. “Aren't they professionals? Experts? What were they trained for, anyway? Most teachers I've worked with are well-meaning but ignorant when it comes to knowing what young people can do if they are given a chance. They are ignorant in two ways: They do not know specifically cach of the . mental powers that we can say belong to all children, and they don’t know how to respond to these powers — J when they meet them. Ignorance breeds fear. Being fearful, teachers run away: to something they know how to do, and they become professional “baby- sitters,” “‘cops,’’ and “custodians.” Their energy goes into keeping the kids busy: keeping minds oc- cupied with trivia instead of frecing minds to soar, Their time ia spent enforcing unneeded rules, training students to behave properly, and keeping everything tidy. I have been told by countless teachers that they do these things because they know “that’s what society expects, that’s what the parents want.” Is it? \ AIRLINES Thursday May 31 of with every purchase ¢ BIG TEE BURGER BEVERAGE -any type 404 Lonsdale 987-4131 wey.