Misconception #48: There's a school that's right for you

Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.

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I have heard numerous people over the years who insist that they need to find the right school for their children. Individuals are far more variable than schools, and nobody can have their individual needs met in such an environment.

When I was in school, I had a teacher tell me that it would be unfair for the rest of the class if he changed his teaching style just for me. That might sound good, but think about it for a moment. If he could not adapt to me because my needs were different from my classmates, then he couldn't adapt to anyone. We were all different with our own educational needs.

In a sense, my teacher was right. The schooling concept is not designed with adaptability in mind. Changes in lesson plans will impact all students instead of just one.

All schools have been built off of the same core. Some have tried smaller class sizes, which is more likely to push students to fit teaching styles rather than adapting teaching styles to the variable learning styles. Some schools have tried to make their curriculum more entertaining, which really does nothing to address the variability of learning styles.

Unless a school creates unique lessons from scratch for each and every student, the educational needs of the student will not be met. This reality contradicts the schooling concept. It is far better to take full control of your education than to embrace the schools' rigid anti-individual approach. Perhaps some schools are closer to meeting your needs than others, but they will all fall short.