Not Too Adept at the Monkey Bars

By Bernard Fryshman

We want our egg-laying hens to range free, we want our flowers to hear nice music, and we speak harshly of people who keep cattle penned in closely, with little room to roam.

Yet we have created a structure wherein we take young children, remove them from their homes day after day, seat them rigidly with fixed posture, and force them to listen for hours on end to an adult—one who may, or may not, be understanding of their torment.

Some children do well in such an environment. But many do not. School, to them, is little short of prison, with the days’ boredom interrupted periodically by criticism, disapproval, and reinforcement of failure. Three or four times a year, their inadequacy is recorded and released to parents and guardians, who then use those report cards to further demean them. Is it a wonder that so many...