Have you ever noticed how often children in public schools are
micromanaged? It’s not enough that they go to the bathroom and wash their hands. They have to read explicit instructions that give step by step by step guidance. It’s not enough to sit in a theater and listen with respect. Adults have to determine where they sit and with what posture. It’s not going from one place to another, but teachers have to form the specific line at what specific spot on the ground, while deciding when and where they stop to wait so the teacher can make sure the line still conforms to their expectations. What does this accomplish? It certainly does not prepare them to make their own choices and live their own lives. Not when every choice is made for them, down to the smallest detail, and they have no practice in decision-making. It does, however, prepare them to be controlled. To do as they’re told without question, to obey in an instant no matter how unnecessary or arbitrary the rule. The thing is, they’re unlikely to find much micromanagement in their adult lives. Adults wouldn’t stand for it, to start. And more and more, the workplace has become increasingly “flattened,” such that disparities in power decrease. They’ll be expected to participate in an environment where the manager tells the employees the end goal and the due date, then leaves the rest to them. A boss, unlike many teachers isn’t going to tell them every step along the way, no matter how picayune.
Which would you rather have your child grow to become? A child raised
in freedom with long practice in running their own lives? Or a person
who knows how to be micromanaged?
Sean Vivier
MLSS Staff
micromanaged? It’s not enough that they go to the bathroom and wash their hands. They have to read explicit instructions that give step by step by step guidance. It’s not enough to sit in a theater and listen with respect. Adults have to determine where they sit and with what posture. It’s not going from one place to another, but teachers have to form the specific line at what specific spot on the ground, while deciding when and where they stop to wait so the teacher can make sure the line still conforms to their expectations. What does this accomplish? It certainly does not prepare them to make their own choices and live their own lives. Not when every choice is made for them, down to the smallest detail, and they have no practice in decision-making. It does, however, prepare them to be controlled. To do as they’re told without question, to obey in an instant no matter how unnecessary or arbitrary the rule. The thing is, they’re unlikely to find much micromanagement in their adult lives. Adults wouldn’t stand for it, to start. And more and more, the workplace has become increasingly “flattened,” such that disparities in power decrease. They’ll be expected to participate in an environment where the manager tells the employees the end goal and the due date, then leaves the rest to them. A boss, unlike many teachers isn’t going to tell them every step along the way, no matter how picayune.
Which would you rather have your child grow to become? A child raised
in freedom with long practice in running their own lives? Or a person
who knows how to be micromanaged?
Sean Vivier
MLSS Staff
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