Conclusion

Abstract

I hope the kind of alternative I have in mind to the traditional academic curriculum is reasonably clear—even though it obviously needs more filling out. It speaks of schools where children spend their time thoroughly absorbed in worthwhile pursuits, with plenty of opportunities for them to choose from what is offered that which suits them most. This is not at all to say, as some radically child-centered educators would say, that only the children should decide what activities to follow. My alternative is powered by a set of carefully worked-out aims based on liberal-democratic values. Children are inducted into being good citizens in accordance with this framework. At the same time, central to the latter is that every citizen live a flourishing life of his or her own choosing. That is why, at classroom level, wholehearted engagement in (often) self-chosen activities is so important. It is a far cry from the school experience of the dutiful Archbishop Secker, and his statement that

I apply myself with what diligence I can to every thing that is the subject of our lectures, without preferring one subject before another.¹