Kaj_Sotala comments on Our House, My Rules - Less Wrong

36 Post author: David_J_Balan 02 November 2009 12:44AM

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Tags: kids morality

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Comment author: CronoDAS 02 November 2009 08:29:29AM *  19 points [-]

I'm serious.

People who are under a certain age have the most restricted set of rights of any group in the United States, with the possible exception of convicted felons.

They can't vote.
They can't sign contracts.
They can't serve on a jury.
They are restricted in the ways they can earn an income. Even if they do earn an income, it is rarely enough to be self-sufficient, and they have limited ability to control how the money is spent.
They can't consent to sexual relations.
They can't purchase certain legal substances.
They can't hold political office.
They can't drive cars.
They can't travel freely, instead needing permission from someone else.
They can't direct their own education.
They can be forced to attend religious services against their will.
They can't control their own medical treatment, and can be forced to take psychoactive medications against their will.
They can't choose where to live.
They can have their genitals modified without their consent.

Do I really need to continue?

Comment author: Kaj_Sotala 02 November 2009 01:30:40PM 16 points [-]

The worst is probably the social environment they're forced to be in. The rest aren't that bad, in comparison.

In almost any group of people you'll find hierarchy. When groups of adults form in the real world, it's generally for some common purpose, and the leaders end up being those who are best at it. The problem with most schools is, they have no purpose. But hierarchy there must be. And so the kids make one out of nothing.

We have a phrase to describe what happens when rankings have to be created without any meaningful criteria. We say that the situation degenerates into a popularity contest. And that's exactly what happens in most American schools. Instead of depending on some real test, one's rank depends mostly on one's ability to increase one's rank. It's like the court of Louis XIV. There is no external opponent, so the kids become one another's opponents.

Comment author: James_K 03 November 2009 03:51:37AM 1 point [-]

That was an extremely interesting article, thanks for posting a link to it.

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