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From the first two year old shout of "NO!" kids battle authority. They need to learn how to make choices and and express reasoned opinions. Schooling is fundamentally about socialization rather than curiosity or intellectual stimulation. Parents need to prepare kids with a strong self concept for the potentially grueling culture of school, if they choose to put them there. Cause it can get ugly.
With that said, there is at least the buzz of shift in the educational pedagogy towards fostering critical thinking, creativity self-directed learning, and tolerance as core curricular prinicples.
I now teach in an art museum and one of the greatest things is to ask a kid what they think (or even more radically what they feel) about one of the pieces and see them realize that whatever they think and say will be valued and discussed. And Ive seen kids considering really challenging art, interpreting circles around amazed adults. I like my job.
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