Misconception #146: We need to protect children as much as we can

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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Pretty much everything in this world can be viewed as a balancing act. We should try to keep children safe, but there are limits to how far we should go. In many cases, it seems like we are trying to shelter children from the real world. The problem with this approach is that you can't prepare children from the real world if you are sheltering them.

Perhaps the most obvious example of this is sports. In recent years, there has been a push to keep children from playing sports on the grounds that there are winners and losers. Losers can have hurt feelings. How many people go through life without playing games with winners and losers? Children absolutely should learn to cope with the idea that they won't always win.

In a sense, it feels like we are trying to protect children from emotions. Yes, emotions can be bad, but they are also a part of being human. They are a part of life. We should not protect children from life.

What I find especially annoying about all of this is that the same teachers who are acting overprotectively in this regard are frequently detrimental to a child's well-being. Emotional abuse is a common tactic to get children to fall in line. Children are frequently complying with whatever their teachers tell them to do. They fear that if they don't do what they're told, it will destroy their futures.

Children deserve protection. We should not trap them in an environment that intentionally threatens their mental health. Just keep in mind that there need to be limits to the type of protection we give them. We are not doing them any favors if we are protecting them from their future lives.