DEPRESSION DIALOGUES: Our children deserve more than an outdated educational system, writes Dr Michael Corry
'I just want my children to be happy" goes the parental mantra. So why are so many of our children unhappy, depressed and lost? And why at a time when parents are working harder than ever before at being child-focused and meeting their children's needs to a high standard?
There is a crisis of unprecedented proportions occurring among our young people. Daily we are bombarded by the statistics on drinking, drugs, school dropout rates, illiteracy, unwanted pregnancy, violent and homicidal behaviour, depression, self-mutilation, obsessive dieting and suicide. Many feel empty and disconnected from themselves and the world around them. These are the Lost Tribe and their numbers are increasing.
Given that every child starts life with a sense of wonder, curiosity, awe, spontaneity, vitality and the joy of being human, it's obvious that in many cases such creative seedlings have failed to land on fertile ground. How does this inherent potential become stifled by the teenage years? Well-meaning parents, with only the children's good at heart, entrust them for an average of 14 years to our school system. I believe the educational process is failing our children and that the blame for its failure is being put on the child.
Schools don't always embody the true meaning of education which comes from the Latin educare; to lead forth potential. Parents find themselves in the impossible position of having to send their children to schools teaching a curriculum into which they have no input. They have the added burden of dealing with their children's discontent about the irrelevance of some of the subjects being taught, hours of homework at the end of long days, and the stress of the points system with its emphasis on competition.
Our children are interfacing with an expanded world which now requires different skills. They find the presentation of school material outmoded and often meaningless to them. Unlike their parents, the handling of this technological age comes naturally to them. In addition, the orientation of this generation is towards the present and the future, not the past. Some of our ways of looking at life, to their young eyes, have past their sell-by date.
Many have lost faith in school and have withdrawn their energy from it, merely marking time until it's over, and "getting out of their head" on the weekend.
It takes an enormous investment of energy to keep engaging with a process that has no relevance to you. They suffer it, and for the most part do it in silence, convinced that their parents are not understanding or supporting them. Numerous angry flash-points in the home centre on school issues - lack of motivation, truancy, homework not done and examination stress. Finally, at the end of their schooling many find themselves ill-equipped and more lost than ever.
The education experience is not neutral. It has the capacity for domestication or freedom. It can dampen down the spirit, will and creativity of a child through testing, labelling, regimented outdated curriculums, in a constant atmosphere of judgment and comparison.
Or it can open the doors to the discovery of talents, strengths, resources and a sense of purpose and direction. Under the present system this is happening for too few. For the many, potential goes untapped and, tragically, zest for life also. Diagnoses of depression, attention deficit disorder and social anxiety follow.
It seems incredulous to prescribe anti-depressants and amphetamines for so many children, rather than examine the shortfalls in the school system.
The theory of multiple intelligence was developed in 1983 by Dr Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University. He suggested that intelligence did not reside in the head alone, but was distributed throughout the person. He identified nine separate forms of intellectual abilities.
Verbal-linguistic intelligence: the skills of listening, speaking, writing, foreign languages - careers in journalism, writing, teaching, languages, law, politics, etc.
Mathematical-logical intelligence: the skills of number-reasoning, abstract thinking and problem-solving - careers in science, engineering, accountancy, maths.
Musical intelligence: appreciating rhythm and pitch, singing, playing instruments, composing music - careers as a musician, disc jockey, sound engineer, singer.
Visual-spatial intelligence: thinking in images, pictures and form - careers in design, art, engineering, architecture, photography, mechanics.
Bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence: the ability to control one's bodily movements and to handle objects skilfully - careers in athletics, dance, acting, yoga, cookery.
Interpersonal intelligence: can empathise with the moods and feelings of others - careers in the healthcare professions, childcare, human resources, politics, business.
Intrapersonal intelligence: capacity for self-awareness, intuition and flexibility of thoughts and beliefs - careers in research, psychology, philosophy.
Naturalist intelligence: a connection to plants, animals and nature - careers in horticulture, agriculture, landscape architecture, farming, animal care, environmental science, sustainability.
Existential intelligence: a sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about the meaning of human existence and the purpose of life - careers in philosophy, theology, science, psychotherapy.
In a multiple intelligence-based curriculum every child would have their potential awakened, developed and seen as a platform for life in terms of earning capacity, personal fulfilment and a satisfying role in society.
What child wouldn't thrive if they proved to be excellent at something? What young person wouldn't like to feel equipped to work, travel and live anywhere they want? To know that they'll never be out of their depth, to have a confidence in their linguistic, personal and life skills which will open up the world to them. And in a world of increasing stress to have a sense of personal responsibility for their own health and know how proactively to maintain it effectively.
Each human being is a miracle of creation and the temple of the soul. Our children deserve better than to be subjugated to an outdated educational system. A renaissance in education is well overdue.
Dr Michael Corry is a consultant psychiatrist and co-author of Going Mad? (Gill and Macmillan) with Dr Áine Tubridy. Depression Dialogues is a series of open meetings with members of the public welcome. Each is facilitated by Dr Corry and is held on the first Thursday of every month. The next meeting is scheduled for next Thursday at Jury's Hotel, Ballsbridge at 7.30pm. Donation €10. Inquiries 01 2800084. Website: www.depressiondialogues.ie