Chapter 2 Why Alternative Education? Now that we have come to the definition of alternative and traditional forms of education, we must ask ourselves why the divide exists. There is a division because there is a need to be better than the current situation. This chapter explores why we need an alternative. We go to school to get an education. Let's explore the meaning of education. ed•u•ca•tion [ej-oo-key-shuh n] noun The act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing reasoning and judgment skills, and generally preparing oneself or others intellectually for life matures. To make the reasoning easier to follow, we divide this definition into the following parts -1. Impart or acquire general knowledge2. Develop the faculties of reason and judgment3. Prepare oneself or others intellectually for a mature life. Assuming that the best way to develop reasoning and judgment is by interacting with those whose opinions differ from one's own, traditional education defeats the purpose of education altogether. Let's see how. We've already addressed the idea that not all children are the same. We can't have a classroom with 20 kids and everyone can get by with the teacher. Keeping in mind the definition of class from the previous chapter, let's try to remember what it means to be in class. Because the environment is teacher-centered, the child is not able to speak during the lesson until the teacher allows him to. Usually, by the end of the lesson, the child will have forgotten the doubt he had in mind. Even if the child has doubts, the quality of doubts is always questioned by teachers and his peers. While curiosity is ideally encouraged... middle of paper... twos and threes in a particular school have difficulty reading individual words, but can accurately copy entire paragraphs from textbooks into notebooks. This problem can be solved when children can identify with what they are studying. If they realize that they need to look beyond the concepts and understand the ideas behind them, they will be able to better appreciate and apply the concepts. Take the above example of rural children who are unable to relate to the concept of their parents going to the office. This concept can be replaced by the concept of employment. We can explain how different people go to different places of employment and those who do not are considered unemployed. This not only explains the concept to children more easily, but also helps them understand the concept of unemployment. This idea can also be applied outside of a rural context.