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For
those of us paying
attention to what’s happening in the world around us, the coming collapse is a foregone conclusion. All signs point to the inevitable: that an event, or series of events, will soon lead the world into what can
be described as a modern period of the Dark Ages. Food will become scarce,
violence will thrive, disease will spread, governments will turn on their people, and the fragile social fabric
that has maintained
relative peace throughout
the Western world will unravel.
As
Todd Sepulveda writes in his latest e-book, Education After the Collapse:
It’s only in
the movies, apocalypse. I hope
so. But what if?
It’s not too
hard to make the jump from
our nice manicured lawns, suburban neighborhoods, Starbucks, 401K lives. On any given day
TEOTWAWKI (The end of the world as we know it) can happen.
Yes, this happens frequently on an individual or family level: losing a loved one, major medical
situation, loss of a job, etc. However,
it is not in the scope of
this book to talk about those
specific situations, or on a small
level. The focus of this
book is on “the big
one.”
The
big one could be a great number
of things. A quick search
on the internet will bring
you a wide variety of scenarios. Or, just take a look at Matthew Stein’s article “Six Trends Converging on Collapse.” (Stein)
Even if we don’t ever have the
“big one,” we
are living unsustainable lives
in which at some point, it will all come to a head.
Many of us prepare
for ‘the big one.’ It really can come at anytime. And when it does
those of us who saw it coming
will have ample supplies of food,
off-grid tools, homesteading skills and contingencies to deal with the inevitable hordes that will come looking to take what they
failed to prepare.
One
oft overlooked aspect of
the aftermath of collapse, however,
is the development of skills and education for the next generation – our kids and grandchildren. If
the existing paradigm were to collapse, how will we raise those
who will take over when we’re gone? What will we teach
them?
Todd
Sepulveda tackles this subject with his latest
project, Education that Matters (www.EDthatmatters.com), and discusses
some key strategies for addressing the issue in his
primer on Education After the Collapse (free e-book download).
As
an educator, administrator,
preacher and prepper,
Todd sets the stage for a preparedness aspect that simply cannot
be ignored. If it all does come crashing down, will we let all of our knowledge die with us? Will the
math, the science, the history, the novels, the art, the study of human nature, religion and our spirituality go the way of the
Library of Alexandria, to be forever
lost in a pile of ash and
rubble? Or will we pass on the centuries of acquired human knowledge to our children, so that they can
help to rebuild a once great
civilization?
 
After the collapse we’ll
have the opportunity to create
a new system of education – one that doesn’t put 30 children in a classroom for hours at a time and forces them to digest materials that bore them to sleep or that they will never
use. We’ll have the chance to integrate their education into their lifestyles. It’ll be a chance to start over with novel methods of teaching, something Education
After the Collapse takes
note of:
One
size doesn’t fit all – They say that
schools and churches are
the slowest industries to reform.
I have experience in both,
and the statement is true. Our current form of education is based on the industrial revolution, when factories needed workers for the assembly lines.
Students start their “shifts” at
the same time, sit in
straight lines, go to lunch, recess,
sit in straight lines again and go home. The same is repeated 5 days a week!
What worked
for you in your day, might not be the best learning environment for your child. Yes, there
needs to be structure: a place to work, a time frame to
do it in, work that should be
accomplished. But that
place doesn’t need
to look like a traditional
school house or desk. Your
child might work better outside
in the fresh air. Sitting
in a chair for 7 hours might not be the best thing for your child either. Could you do that? They need
frequent breaks and time to process
what has been learned before jumping to the next thing. There should be work, but working through a workbook might
not be the answer.
Whatever the structure looks like, it should
be established and revisited to find the optimal learning environment for your child.
With all of the time and effort you’ve spent on traditional preparedness-minded
supplies, how much thought
have you given to the educational aspects of post-collapse survival?
Our
children will certainly learn how to grow or hunt for their own food,
raise livestock, how to defend themselves, and how to utilize tools at homesteads and retreats. But what about the other skills? We’ve all gone to school
and likely have a moderate
to high level of education
in mathematics and reading,
but will we remember it all so that we
can pass on this critical information?
Having age-appropriate
educational materials on
hand is certainly a plus.
Considering alternatives, such
as returning to tutor and
apprentice style educational
formats will perhaps be even more important. Most of
us are not trained educators,
but each of us has skills,
ideas and belief systems we can
share and pass on to others.
Basic
education is a must, as
the world will recover in
time.
At ED That Matters, Todd shares his insights, as well the
insights of other educators
to help prepare all of us for when
there are no classrooms.
We strongly
suggest you read his e-book to gather some initial ideas on where to start, and follow his
web site for a continuing education…on
education.
Surviving won’t
be enough. We must also learn to thrive in a new world that will need
to be built from the ground up. It’s our children that will be doing
the heavy lifting. We should, thus, give them every
opportunity to succeed.
Resources:
Todd
Sepulveda is the web
master of the popular daily
destination for all things preparedness
at Prepper Website.
In
addition to his work on
post-collapse education (www.EDthatMatters.com),
Todd is also involved in the permanent archiving
of essential preparedness and survival
resources via the The Preparedness Review web site (a proverbial Library of
Alexandria for Preppers).
Education
After the Collapse – E-book Download
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