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AbiolaFasehunFirstPaper 8 - 11 Jul 2012 - Main.RohanGrey
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Unearthing Myths about Urban Education, Unveiling The Power of the Family | | | I envisage a policy similar to drivers licenses, albeit with a "bundle of sticks" approach to defining competency rather than the more binary system of license/no-license. We set the starting position at assumption of incompetence, but simultaneously acknowledge the desirability of self-autonomy and construct a supportive (rather than judgmental) educational-licensing scheme that strives to ensure everyone who wants to and is able achieves competence. This is the very essence of paternalism ("maternalism," perhaps?), but most accept its wisdom in the context of restricting access to public roads to those who have already passed minimum competency standards. Presumably, this is due to the high levels of risk involved in driving, to others as well as one's self. But why is this risk greater than in the case of child-rearing? One ton metal boxes that can move at 100mph can be dangerous, but hardly more so than eighteen years of neglectful parenting. I fail to see why we protect victims of the latter less than the former simply because the victim and perpetrator come from the same bloodline. | |
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> | Rohan | | | Hello,
Who left the above comment? I believe that when you left your comment I was editing my paper and that is why your name does not appear. Thank you for reading and commenting. Personally, I prefer a hybrid of your point of view. I believe that parents should be viewed as dominant participants in a team of child-raisers, but I would not adopt the idea that parents can assume such a role "whenever they are able to" without further clarification. Who decides when a parent is able to participate? To decide this question, I would then adopt the idea that there should be some assumption that a parent is competent until proven otherwise, but this assumption should be carefully observed (i.e. your bundle of sticks approach with the level set to a mid level of competence). I agree that society should not have to wait to step in, offer encouragement, advice, or support only after something terrible has happened to a child. But I also think that while it shouldn't be easy for parents to pass ownership/responsibility, by setting the starting position to an assumption of incompetence, there is a possibility of creating a further demoralized culture.
-- AbiolaFasehun - 10 Jul 2012 | |
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> | Hi Abolia,
You're probably right about the demoralizing effects of an assumption of incompetence - i wasn't entirely happy with my earlier characterization, but i'm also not happy with your alternative assumption of competence. Perhaps it would be clearer if the word incompetence was replaced with the concept of "neutrality" or something to that effect. There is no assumption of incompetence prior to the taking of a driving license, since the diagnostic has not yet been administered. Perhaps a similar mentality would work with parenting? For the record, I use this analogy only for ease of visualization, not because I believe the nuances and emotional processes associated with raising children are comparable to those associated with the act of driving a car. | | | You are entitled to restrict access to your paper if you want to. But we all derive immense benefit from reading one another's work, and I hope you won't feel the need unless the subject matter is personal and its disclosure would be harmful or undesirable.
To restrict access to your paper simply delete the "#" character on the next two lines: |
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