That teacher got me thinking about whether schools are supposed to train obedience
Do you think children should obey their parents? I think they should, within limits.
How can one adult keep order in a classroom of twenty children unless they are "compliant" or "obedient"?
This is an interesting question. I would suggest that keeping order is infinitely more likely when young minds are fully engaged in what they are doing. Which is less likely when they are forced into repeating material that they have mastered.
We tend to think about the traditional desk-in-rows, teacher in front mode. Your question made me think about my DS' Montessori primary (ages 3-6) teacher. She had 21 children, almost always individually working or in small groups. She also had a very peaceful classroom. She was exceptionally good at noting when a child was about to run amok and at then redirecting them and/or giving them a reminder about expected behavior. This classroom also had four or five very smart, advanced boys in it. And yet, without dumbing them down or forcing obedience, there was order.
