John
Holt was one of my heroes, when I was a teenager, and he ended up
contributing a lot to my personal philosophy and to the shape of my
life. After I read every one of his ten books, I got to hear him
speak in person, and later I got to meet and talk to him. Sadly, Holt
died too young, at age 62.
In
addition to authoring ten books, Holt was the editor of a newsletter;
books and newsletter dealt with the questions: How do children learn?
How do children fail to learn?
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| Some families are too busy doing things like this to go to school... |
Holt
started his career as an author as part of the school reform movement
of the 1960s and ended up being very important to the modern
homeschooling and unschooling movements, in which families allow and
help kids learn and grow without schooling. (His newsletter was
called Growing Without Schooling.)
Holt
on children's rights...
Holt
also had some very interesting ideas about children's rights—ideas
that have not been talked as much about as have his ideas about
school and homeschooling. Perhaps the ideas are just too extreme. His
opening statement in the book is: “I propose...that the rights,
privileges, duties of adult citizens be made available to any young
person, of whatever age, who wants to make use of them.”
What
do you think? ANY age?
A
kid 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. |
Holt
defended his ideas by pointing out that privileges such as driving
can and do hinge on demonstration of knowledge of traffic laws and
skill in operating a car. So, if a mature 13 year old can master the
written test and wow the tester in the behind-the-wheel test, why not
allow that 13 year old to drive? Obviously, parents would have
something to say about it, since most 13 year olds do not own their
own cars and cannot afford auto insurance—and proof of insurance is
required before drivers can take the behind-the-wheel test. What do
you think?
Holt
pointed out that laws that prohibit children from buying cigarettes
don't work. Teens somehow manage to get cigarettes very easily. One
could argue that education about the very real (and very terrible)
health effects of smoking works better than prohibitions by law. One
could argue that acceptance of smoking by anyone—adults included—in
society is the largest factor in kids smoking. The states with the
lowest rates of adult smokers, such as Utah and California, also have
the lowest rates of teen smokers. In my own state, California, less
than 12 percent of the adult population and less than 7 percent of
teens smoke...So, what do you think about no age limits on cigarette
sales?
As
to voting, Holt pointed out that many children have more time to
devote to (and passion about) learning about candidates and
propositions than adults. Some would argue that any person below age
18 could be given the right to vote if they could pass a written test
demonstrating understanding of the functions and structure of
government and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Do you
agree?
There
are a lot of other children's rights that Holt discussed in his book
Escape from Childhood. He wrote that many children would not
want to use all or maybe even any of these rights—and that would be
fine!
John
Holt proposed these ideas as conversation starters. He admitted that
his ideas were not fully fleshed out, and that various different
societies could take steps towards these rights, little by little,
one right at a time, after debating the possible effects of such
changes. He wasn't a fiery radical who wanted to tear down everything
and replace society wholesale!
I
agree with Holt that we should have those sorts of conversations. But
I also like some common sense restrictions—such as no tattoos or
piercings until age 18, unless a parent gives consent, and no R rated
movies until age 17, unless accompanied by a parent or legal
guardian. Even though these laws are not always obeyed or enforced, I
think they can still help guide kids and families with choices about
things that have complicated, long-lasting effects.
Also, before
selling cigarettes to kids was illegal (and before advertising
cigarettes on TV was illegal), there were ad campaigns that seemed to
be trying to appeal to kids. For example, Camel cigarettes had a
mascot, Joe the Camel, who was cute and "smooth" and "cool"—and there
was even a stuffed version of Joe. A toy! Making the selling of
cigarettes to minors illegal doesn't keep all cigarettes away from
all kids and teens, of course (although it makes it harder to get
them than it used to be, for sure! – especially since there used to
be coin-op cigarette machines!) – but it makes it a lot harder for
tobacco 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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| Many people worked to ban cigarette advertising on TV. Do you think this "Joe Cool" mascot targets kids? |
To
find out more about Holt's ideas, check out this website
devoted to the man, his writings, and his ideas.
Also
on this date:
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