Full-Time Schools - are we turning our Children into Robots?

When we were in Germany, I heard from several people that they have now started full-time schools, starting from primary school. Germany is of course not the first country to do this, on the contrary, a lot of other countries like the US or France and many others have had full-time schools for years already. Talking with my friends in different parts of Germany, I had a whole lot of different thoughts which I would like to express today and in the next days. Today I will start with the first thought of all: this is horrible!

Really, when I hear that a seven-year-old goes to school in the morning at eight and stays there until the late afternoon, five or even six o’clock, I have the feeling that this is a terrible thing to do to the child! Thinking back to my own childhood, I know how many hours we spent every afternoon playing on the roof the houses in town, by the bank of the river or out on the road. None of these children will be able to do any of this!

They won’t be able to develop that creativity that our generation used to find new games and new ways of using our time because all of their time will be strictly organized. I know, full-time primary school does not mean that they are chained to their chairs the whole day long. I know that there are teachers who have been educated to play with the children, sing with them and make them enjoy. Still however it is in some way structured. They are told to use their creativity – but even then it is channeled in a certain direction, it is directed, not free.

Children thus learn already very early how to be part of the system. How to be a little piece in the complete mechanism, running well, performing as expected. The complete weekday is scheduled and on weekends there will just be enough time to reconnect as a family next to the daily housework chores of course. In earlier times education was a task for the parents, too – now children spend so much time with their teachers that it should be mainly their task. Of course, teachers refuse taking so much responsibility! The harm is with the children!

I also know that there are other countries where this has already been the concept for many years. People of these countries say ‘It works fine, the children are happy, they do a lot of fun things at school!’ I have however seen in those countries how much pressure the children really have in school! It may well be that half of the children or even more cope well with the system, can adjust themselves and are okay. I have met many parents however who were very concerned about their children. They come home from school and are exhausted. They don’t want to play but just sit in front of the TV. They don’t have any energy anymore and doctor appointments become a big hassle because there is just no time. They are unhappy, with all the stress they get problems like depression, ADHD and anxiety. Whoever does not fit in the system is lost.

In my eyes children are getting too much pressure already in those early years. It is not right. The classes are usually too big to pay any attention on individual development. Parents don’t get the time to do that. A childhood, which should be a time of joy, games, jumping, running, playing and exploring the world becomes a structured set of years with development goals which have to be achieved, with pressure for those who have difficulties reaching there, with competition among those who should be best friends.

Where is the time for love?

Tomorrow and in the next days I will elaborate on some further thoughts to this subject.