A while ago I wrote about teacher/student burnout and the cuts to education in California.

Something connected happened in a second grade drama class I was teaching in Berkeley yesterday. We were playing a warm up game called "Brain P.E." in which kids have 10-20 seconds to make little lists, as a precursor to using spontaneous thinking for improvisation. When I asked for a list of 3 things they'd like to change about the world, one boy wrote, "No School," as well as "no violence." A few hours later, I read five brilliant essays by Mike Rose in Truth Dig online magazine (recommended!), titled "Why Send Kids to School?" His comments feel important, because with a new national policy under consideration for schools, I want to know how it will affect my students.

Remember, I also noted that teachers have been pegged as the problem in the high stakes education game. Recent studies reported that the schools that were "successful" when No Child Left Behind started are still successful, and many of those that were "failing" in the past are still not doing well, in spite of massive restructuring. Could it be that teachers are being asked to fix society's and the system's ills?

But why do we need school for our children? Why not agree with my second grader, who finds school unnecessary? Can we all home school? Can everyone study online and settle for occasional live contact with a teacher?

When I asked my high school students why they should finish school and go to college, the unanimous answer was, "to get a good job and make money." But somehow this idea (they've learned it from adults) results in school being perceived as a kind of holding pen before being released into an automatic High Paying Job, or the NFL, NBA, WNBA, etc. There's something missing. What about curiosity, the pure fun of looking up a new word to see what it means, or being able to imagine solutions and try them out? And how would an economic purpose for going to school relate to the experience my Chorus students just had, doing a solo song recital on Wednesday? Words escape me to describe the joy of hearing each individual voice, touching lyrics, beautiful melodies emerge, the sound so true and lovely, in spite of nerves and the stage of technique each singer showed. Can going to school to get a job result in the human experience of shedding tears in the presence of beauty and truth, or the excitement, pride, and opening of hearts of those singers.

There are so many reasons for our young people to go to school, not the least learning to appreciate the diverse cultures on our planet and our common humanity. Not to mention, building the values and character it takes to become a responsible, thoughtful, caring adult.