Common Sense, the Status Quo, and Human Nature

"Common sense" once told us that the Earth is flat. Up until around 1800 the "status quo" was that three out of every four humans lived in some form of slavery. And "human nature" has been used as the shoulder-shrugging excuse for almost every atrocious or malignant act ever committed.

In 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. told us that the three evils of society are racism, excessive materialism, and militarism. A half century later, these evils are still with us, of course, and continue to be defended by the absurdities of common sense, the status quo, and an evocation of a certain view of human nature.

Perhaps the most important thing I've learned from working with young children is to be suspicious of "common sense." Psychologists assert that humans reach the "age of reason" at around 7-years-old, which places them beyond the reach of this preschool teacher. They would have me believe that my colleagues lack common sense, but this is patently absurd. Each and every one of them is deeply reasonable, they always have a reason for what they do, they simply haven't yet learned which of their reasons are socially acceptable and which are not. Evocations of common sense is a tool of the kind of social power that French philosopher Michel Foucault called "normalization," in which our souls are imprisoned by expectations and standards. I find myself inspired by these newly minted humans who are not yet subject to the power of common sense. They allow me to see that just because it's common it doesn't mean it makes sense.

"We've always done it that way" is likewise an argument that carries no weight with a young child. The status quo means nothing to them because there is nothing status quo about their world. Each day, every moment, brings a new revelation, a new perspective, a new ability, and a new question. Adults, especially in groups, have learned the hazards of bucking the power of normalization, even if as individuals they see the absurdity. My young teachers, however, unencumbered by the status quo, are ready to rail against it when it doesn't suit them. By the time they're seven perhaps they've learned to not rock the boat, but a three-year-old who doesn't like the way things have always been done will let us know it, and I've found, quite often, they make perfectly valid points.

As for human nature, Emma Goldman writes, "Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! . . . The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weakness of human nature." What I've learned from young children is that human nature is a product of the society in which it finds itself. If placed in conditions of command and control it becomes one thing; if placed in conditions of trust and respect, it becomes another.

I'm not saying that there is no value in "common sense" or that "status quo" is entirely corrupt. And I'm certainly not insisting that "human nature" is that of the angels. What I've come to, however, with no little help from preschoolers, is to always be suspicious whenever anyone, even someone I trust and respect, evokes them. Perhaps, in the end, that is what education is all about. We should demand an education that teaches us to view "common sense," "the status quo," and "human nature" from perspectives that reveal their inherent absurdity. When we can do that, especially when we can see it as absurd from multiple perspectives, we will see that we can never simply accept any of it as truth, there is always something more, and that is what will ultimately set us free.

******

Not all risk taking is physical. Much of it involves questioning the status quo, whatever that is where we are. We live in an era of "bubble wrapped" children and helicopter parents, yet we know that healthy exposure to risk-taking through play is essential for proper brain development, self-confidence, and physical competence, not to mention social-emotional and intellectual development. My 6-week course, Teacher Tom's Risky Play, is a deep-dive into the value and importance of risky play, or safety play, and an exploration of how we can overcome media fear-mongering and catastrophic imaginations, and work with regulators, to create "safe enough" environments in which the children in our lives can engage in the kind of appropriate risk-taking they need to thrive, both today and into the future. To register and learn more, click here.

I put a lot of time and effort into this blog. If you'd like to support me please consider a small contribution to the cause. Thank you!