Practical solutions

4 Following a child's growth 4.1 Childcare As I mentioned above, child care is a very important factor. Circumstances will determine how the child's character is composed (I believe there is good and bad in every one, it is just a matter of bringing out the good sides and not giving the bad sides too much chance to develop). It is also important to not let gaps in intelligence (which is in fact a matter of speed) discourage children and to see to it that they are not pushed beyond their capacity which might slow them down more and more. As will be seen later in section 5 ('Organizing one's studies') students will not belong to a fixed class as is common today. Teachers, classmates and learning environment might change as frequently as the weather. Yet I believe that there must be a place where one belongs and learns social habits. Even today, parents that are at home all day are encouraged to send their kids to day care centers to let them learn how to interact with other individuals. Humans are a social species and interaction is our only way to survive. Yet if not learnt properly, social interaction can be the key to negative feelings and all sorts of problems that derive from them. I suggest that apart from classes, students are sent to a daycare center, starting from two, three or four years in age and being grouped according to neighbour hood. This is practical since people will get to know each other and can build up personal relation ships which are ever so valuable in times where divorce and broken families are so common. 4.1.1 Qualified staff and level of matureness Qualified staff workers will take care of the children and it is desirable that they too live in the neighbour hood and know the family backgrounds of the kids well. These care takers will help parents to decide when they should start to send their kids to school and to what extent this should be done. The day care center will divide their kids into groups according to the level of matureness they are on. The shift to a higher level will be approved on a case to case basis and decision is made in consultation with the parents and student himself. This is to ensure that every kid is able to proceed in his or her own speed, yet given the possibility, if really necessary, to stay in the same group as friends. Inter-group activities will be held on a regular basis though to stimulate students to strive for a higher level and to favour friendships across different groups. Every time a child is 'promoted' to a higher level of matureness, it will obtain more personal freedom concerning choices such as when (how many days or hours per week/month) to come or not to come and when to participate or not to participate in organized group games or events. The caretaker will meet up with the parents regularly to discuss the progress of the child and both parents and students should trust the advice of the care taker since he knows the kid well from a psychological point of view and as an outsider of the family can see things in a bird's eye view (and, of course, kids behave differently in front of their parents and when they are not around). Upon reaching the highest level, a young adult can chose to come back to his group any day he likes, using the facilities together with his friends (members of lower level groups will have priority when booking though). Going to a daycare center will be compulsory just like going to school is compulsory now, even once formal education is entered, students will have to come back to their day care groups daily after school until they have reached the highest level, in which they will be given the choice to come or not to come. This might sound a bit revolutionary and some might feel that they do not want to be forced to go to a day care center; but I see no reason why the teaching of facts should be compulsory while the teaching of moral values should not, or why school kids are sent to a dentist twice a year, but not to a psychologist. 4.1.2 Searching for talents and interests Daycare centers should be well equipped, providing a wide range of facilities for sports, arts, games, literature, computer related activities etc. This will make it easier for young people to try new things and discover their talents and interests. Since most youngsters might only reach the highest level of matureness roughly around the age of 20, centers can be much bigger than today's kindergardens or youth centers, thus being able to provide a greater number of facilities. In real life the scenario could be like this: an area roughly like a present day primary school will be called the neighbour hoods daycare center. There will be a gym and sportshall, all sorts of rackets and sporting facilities to borrow; a dance studio, one or several music rooms with electrical as well as acoustical instruments to borrow; rooms for painting and modeling with oil paint, cloth, clay, other sorts of colours and paper, a sewing mashine with threads, needles, textile; a laboratory with microscopes and other chemistry and physics equipment; a library with books ranging from academic literature to novels; computers not only with the usual office programmes but also a few specialized programmes for music, video editing or academic research etc. These facilities will be shared by all groups and can be booked by individuals or groups. Each group will also be given their own room with a few facilities of their own. A group can, on its own or together with other groups, organize trips or events such as barbeques or workshops. Individuals across groups can meet at any time (on the terms of freedom of the member of the lower group) but groups used to make organization easier and to challenge students to proceed to or succeed in a higher level rather than to solely stick to one group of friends which in certain cases might make him lazy to or even stop him from bringing out the best in himself. Through this system, kids are well taken care of, never left without help, yet challenged to give their best. Parents alone cannot always grant their kids to try out anything they like and they might not be able to detect psychological problems. Some parents can, but do not care, some care, but are not financially capable of doing so. Some can provide the material need of their kids, but not the spiritual, and for some it is the other way around. The daycare center is there to make up for those gaps to ensure that every kid has the same possibilities when growing up. This hopefully lowers the crime rate since less youngsters will be bitter and unsatisfied with their lives and more kids will be able to make use of the fair chances that they are given at the start of their lives. 4.2 Counsellors 5 Organizing one's studies 6 Grading students 7 Refreshing the system