Self-Teaching
"There is nothing on earth intended for innocent people so horrible as a school." -George Bernard Shaw
The philosophy of the Transcendentalists was that a person who was truly in tune with nature, spirituality, and individuality could teach themselves. In their minds school was only for those who could not teach themselves because they had not achieved true fulfillment. They believed that merely by taking a walk through the woods a person could learn all they need to know about the world and about themselves simply by watching the natural world around them. In his essay Nature Emerson wrote that "In the woods we return to reason and faith." The woods and nature could take a man away from all of the societal ills that school allowed in and let a person truly connect with the world around them. Life had existed and thrived in the world without formal education for years. Education is only necessary when a person has no understanding of the world around them. Today education is mandatory for all children under the age of sixteen. Students are dependent on the educational system to survve in the world. Their is no personal choice involved in education. It is filled with conformity and instills many of society's ills in the future generations of America.
The philosophy of the Transcendentalists was that a person who was truly in tune with nature, spirituality, and individuality could teach themselves. In their minds school was only for those who could not teach themselves because they had not achieved true fulfillment. They believed that merely by taking a walk through the woods a person could learn all they need to know about the world and about themselves simply by watching the natural world around them. In his essay Nature Emerson wrote that "In the woods we return to reason and faith." The woods and nature could take a man away from all of the societal ills that school allowed in and let a person truly connect with the world around them. Life had existed and thrived in the world without formal education for years. Education is only necessary when a person has no understanding of the world around them. Today education is mandatory for all children under the age of sixteen. Students are dependent on the educational system to survve in the world. Their is no personal choice involved in education. It is filled with conformity and instills many of society's ills in the future generations of America.
