JohnnHolt was one of my heroes, when I was a teenager, and he ended upncontributing a lot to my personal philosophy and to the shape of mynlife. After I read every one of his ten books, I got to hear himnspeak in person, and later I got to meet and talk to him. Sadly, Holtndied too young, at age 62.
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nInnaddition to authoring ten books, Holt was the editor of a newsletter;nbooks and newsletter dealt with the questions: How do children learn?nHow do children fail to learn?
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Some families are too busy doing
things like this to go to school… |
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nHoltnstarted his career as an author as part of the school reform movementnof the 1960s and ended up being very important to the modernnhomeschooling and unschooling movements, in which families allow andnhelp kids learn and grow without schooling. (His newsletter wasncalled Growing Without Schooling.)
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nHoltnon children’s rights…
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nHoltnalso had some very interesting ideas about children’s rights—ideasnthat have not been talked as much about as have his ideas aboutnschool and homeschooling. Perhaps the ideas are just too extreme. Hisnopening statement in the book is: “I propose…that the rights,nprivileges, duties of adult citizens be made available to any youngnperson, of whatever age, who wants to make use of them.”
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nWhatndo you think? ANY age?
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nAnkid can drive, buy cigarettes, and vote, at age 13? Or 10? Or even 5?
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Some kids learn to drive a
tractor before they learn to
drive a car. |
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nHoltndefended his ideas by pointing out that privileges such as drivingncan and do hinge on demonstration of knowledge of traffic laws andnskill in operating a car. So, if a mature 13 year old can master thenwritten test and wow the tester in the behind-the-wheel test, why notnallow that 13 year old to drive? Obviously, parents would havensomething to say about it, since most 13 year olds do not own theirnown cars and cannot afford auto insurance—and proof of insurance isnrequired before drivers can take the behind-the-wheel test. What donyou think?
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Holtnpointed out that laws that prohibit children from buying cigarettesndon’t work. Teens somehow manage to get cigarettes very easily. Onencould argue that education about the very real (and very terrible)nhealth effects of smoking works better than prohibitions by law. Onencould argue that acceptance of smoking by anyone—adults included—innsociety is the largest factor in kids smoking. The states with thenlowest rates of adult smokers, such as Utah and California, also haventhe lowest rates of teen smokers. In my own state, California, lessnthan 12 percent of the adult population and less than 7 percent ofnteens smoke…So, what do you think about no age limits on cigarettensales?n
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nAsnto voting, Holt pointed out that many children have more time tondevote to (and passion about) learning about candidates andnpropositions than adults. Some would argue that any person below agen18 could be given the right to vote if they could pass a written testndemonstrating understanding of the functions and structure ofngovernment and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Do younagree?
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nTherenare a lot of other children’s rights that Holt discussed in his booknEscape from Childhood. He wrote that many children would notnwant to use all or maybe even any of these rights—and that would benfine! n
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nJohnnHolt proposed these ideas as conversation starters. He admitted thatnhis ideas were not fully fleshed out, and that various differentnsocieties could take steps towards these rights, little by little,none right at a time, after debating the possible effects of suchnchanges. He wasn’t a fiery radical who wanted to tear down everythingnand replace society wholesale! n
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Inagree with Holt that we should have those sorts of conversations. ButnI also like some common sense restrictions—such as no tattoos ornpiercings until age 18, unless a parent gives consent, and no R ratednmovies until age 17, unless accompanied by a parent or legalnguardian. Even though these laws are not always obeyed or enforced, Inthink they can still help guide kids and families with choices aboutnthings that have complicated, long-lasting effects. n
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Many people worked to ban
cigarette advertising on TV.
Do you think this “Joe Cool”
mascot targets kids? |
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nAlso, beforenselling cigarettes to kids was illegal (and before advertisingncigarettes on TV was illegal), there were ad campaigns that seemed tonbe trying to appeal to kids. For example, Camel cigarettes had anmascot, Joe the Camel, who was cute and “smooth” and “cool”—and therenwas even a stuffed version of Joe. A toy! Making the selling ofncigarettes to minors illegal doesn’t keep all cigarettes away fromnall kids and teens, of course (although it makes it harder to getnthem than it used to be, for sure! – especially since there used tonbe coin-op cigarette machines!) – but it makes it a lot harder forntobacco companies to blatantly stalk young new customers. (Companies that sell products that kill off their current customers are always having to find new ones, don’t you know?)
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Tonfind out more about Holt’s ideas, check out this websitendevoted to the man, his writings, and his ideas.n
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversarynof the completion of the Human Genome Project
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ArcheologistnAugustus Pitt-Rivers’s birthdayn
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ArcheologistnAugustus Pitt-Rivers’s birthday
