What Has Education Lost?

Do you remember when you were little? We eagerly anticipated being “big enough” to attend school. Sometimes it was because there were few other children around, but mostly because we wanted to learn, to be like those who were older and knew the mysteries of reading, writing and math. In the days before preschools being for everyone, we entered kindergarten for half days. We played house or store or with blocks, slathered paint on paper to create out masterpieces, mashed clay into ropes and blobs that became something to us, listened to music and danced if there was space, had a “rest” (but I think that was for the teacher instead of us), and the teacher read to us. Eventually, we began to learn to read toward the end of the year.

Schools still offer the magnet to the young of being able to be with others their own ages, to play in safe areas, and to learn. They still play with others, but most of their days are sitting at desks. They begin to learn to read and write at the beginning of kindergarten which they often attend for full days. But what has been lost?

I no longer see the “magic” of what schools could offer: using their creativity and imagination in play or art. To some extent, there is joy of learning, but the pressures of test scores makes it more work than joy because many students are not developmentally ready for what is presented to them. We used to desire to achieve, but now the expectations are so high that many give up before the end of third grade.

This push for educational “excellence” is supposedly to develop opportunities for individuals’ futures in the workforce. The actual result is that many are averse to and resist any form of school. Their poor grades and/or drop-out status make them ineligible for advanced training or higher education. In the logic of legislators who control education, everyone should go to college. The result is “watered-down” college preparation classes (which are actually useless in preparing students for college) and an absence of vocational exploration opportunities. Everyone used to take shop and/or home economics courses in high school where we prepared for independent living (taking care of feeding and clothing the family and learning how to safely use tools to repair things around the house). Those classes are rapidly disappearing, only to resurface in different forms at the vocational or technical college level. That is where many attend because they are forced to because they can get government assistance as long as they are in school.

The problem with the current goals for education is that it has lots a humanness that allowed everyone to be successful in areas of their interests, talents and skills. What is there for the artistically or musically inclined individuals? What is there for those who think multi-dimensionally and can create or envision structures, packaging, or machines?

Education teaches to the “average” – do you know anyone who is consistently “average” in anything? Education is not a product on an assembly line, so the quality control measures cannot be the same for everyone. The raw materials (student entering school) at any given point are not uniform and “perfect”, because we all develop at different rates and at different times.

Golf Course Types by Ownership

One of the things that a newcomer to the World of golf would probably like to know is what the difference is between different types of golf course. This question is more complicated than you may first imagine as there are really three different ways to express what category a particular golf course fits into.

The first is by setting and categories a course by whether it is set in heathland, woodland or by the ocean etc. The second type is by length, where the course is categorized essentially by the length of time it takes to play a round, so these types will be pitch & putt, full length or executive, so called because executives may not have time to play a round on a full length course of 18 holes. Most executive courses are only 9 holes.

In this article though we are going to look at how golf courses can be categorized by ownership. The above two types of categorization allow you to know what to expect when you turn up to play. However, this third type of categorization determines whether or not you will be allowed access to the course at all.

The following is not an exhaustive list of course types but these are the most popular types of course that you might come across.

Private Golf Courses are courses which are owned by a golf club and they only allow play by members of the club. If you aren’t a member of the club then you can’t play, unless of course you are lucky enough to be invited to play by someone who is already a member.

Public Golf Courses can be courses owned by private organizations or individuals or by other organizations such as local businesses. The key here is that the owner charges a fee for playing. Essentially this means that the course is open to be played by anyone who can afford to pay the fee.

Courses also exist which are essentially a combination of the above two. Club members can play at any time. The public are allowed to play but usually only on specific days of the week, or times of day.

Municipal golf course are owned by the local government. They operate like public golf courses but the money paid for the green fees goes to the them as opposed to a private individual or company.

Some residential areas have their own golf course which is designed to be played by the local residents only. They tend to be run by the community itself and as such are not open to the public.

Finally there is the resort golf course. Resort golf courses are owned and operated by a holiday resort or a hotel chain for the pleasure of their guests. Play may not be restricted to resort guests however, and so you may find some resort courses are open to the public in return for a fee.