The Consequences of Freedom without Structure (1997)

Is freedom a good thing? The obvious answer to most persons is a resounding yes!!! Yet to ascribe to such an answer in all situations is to misunderstand the concept of freedom. The purpose of this article is to identify the consequences of giving freedom to students in the public school classroom. Of all that which can overwhelm, mystify, and even frighten students in grades K-12, it is the teacher who gives too much freedom. What evidence is there that freedom can be destructive, a negative force in a young person's life, rather than the constructive, or positive force that is more desirable? One only needs to observe parents of young children to determine the negative effects of too much freedom. Even before beginning school, toddlers and pre-school age children who are allowed to do only what they want to do, say what they want to say when they want to say it, who constantly demand and have their own way (freedom), are all too recognizable by those who attend commercial and community events (movies, concerts, restaurants, sporting events, churches, city parks, etc.). Youngsters who are given too much freedom at an early age and whose behavior is reflective of too much freedom are a major irritant to those about them. They might best be described as children no one chooses to be around, and even more succinctly described as spoiled and obnoxious. In actuality, the child is not to blame for such behavior. The parent is responsible for guiding, molding, and directing the child in the formative years in order that the child can be protected from himself and from others. Giving the child too much freedom when the child does not know how to handle it is like handing the child a lighted stick of dynamite. It is an explosive situation that will assuredly destroy the child and those around him. The child does not understand freedom as does an adult, but does know what it is to have his own way and will insist upon it unless someone intervenes. For youngsters whose parents have allowed this unrequited freedom, it may not be until he enters school that he is confronted for the first time with the idea that he cannot have things his way all the time -- that his behavior must be restrained and that he must consider other person's needs as well as his own. Having described the pre-school years above, and prior to addressing what should occur in the K-12 years, it is worthy to describe when happens when too much freedom is provided to those in the post secondary years (young adult). With increasing numbers of high school graduates attending colleges, it is apparent that many are unable to handle the freedom that college allows. One only has to consider the abused freedoms in college life that many a freshman has experienced, including nonattendance in classes, withdrawing from classes, not using study time appropriately, partying more than studying, and all of this resulting in a grade average that lands him on probation or causes his withdrawal from school. The common refrain is that the student simply could not handle the large dose of freedom that was available to him. In actuality, he could not handle freedom because it came without any guidelines or structure attached to it. In short, too much freedom given too soon to any age person who is not mature enough to handle it is a sure ticket to irresponsible behavior. Examples from the worlds of business, entertainment, and sports abound as well. The salesperson who does not have to clock in but makes his own schedule and fails because there are little or no guidelines (structure) is often a victim of too much freedom. The entertainer or the athlete who suddenly has a multi-million dollar contract has a freedom that only affluence allows. Too often such persons get wrapped up in a life of drugs and alcohol because there are no parameters to their new found freedom that increased income and more free time has allowed. So, is freedom a bad thing? …