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Indeed, they should. Today, schools do not teach children how to be happy. Instead, they demonstrate that dullness, obedience, and the suppression of happiness are normal conditions. But the real slogan of education should be: “We must teach children to be happy.” We must raise people to become happy human beings.
We need a school that teaches the correct attitude toward the world, life, friends, teachers, and parents. This does not require grades from others, but self-assessment: when a child learns to evaluate their own effort and progress. Even a small child can be taught to do this. He can say: “Today I wasn’t in shape, I should have read this, worked more on that.” That is a good direction.
School should also teach that mistakes are not only inevitable, but necessary. A mistake is not a disaster; it is an opportunity to learn even more than from flawless success. Life itself is a process of making mistakes and fixing them, over and over. Children should not be afraid of mistakes.
At the same time, we must deal with the cruelty of classmates, the trolling and mockery that often comes from how teachers expose children to ridicule. A child needs to be taught to understand human nature, that people instinctively want to rise above others, often at their expense. This is human nature that we must accept, forgive, and learn how to relate correctly to it. We must also recognize that we share the same nature. That is why I say that the concepts of human nature and egoism should be taught from the very first grade, if not earlier.
Homework is another problem. It usually causes disgust and hatred toward school. I think homework is unnecessary. A child should return home free of burdens, with time to choose what interests them. When I was young, we had community centers with many free classes, from radio and photography through to modeling and several other subjects. We went, learned, and the teachers treated us warmly. Today, such opportunities are rare, and it is a pity.
It could also be stated that school does not prepare us for adult life. Nothing truly prepares us for it. We just plunge into life like into a whirlpool and then each swims out in their own way. However, school can at least create realistic situations, which we should discuss: “What would you do if…?” In this way, children could practice how to act and communicate in life.
The main subject taught in school should be learning to understand one another. The ability to positively communicate and connect with one another is the most important skill we can have in life, and the more such a skill spreads among the population, the more we will be able to experience happier lives together. That is the knowledge we truly need.
Based on KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on August 13, 2025. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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