About the special course in school and whether to force children to learn?

I just want to make a reservation that it will not be about school subjects and classes, like mathematics, biology, etc., but about the so-called special courses, or rather, about the special course on web design.

What is a special course and what is it all about?

Usually, good schools offer their students additional in-depth classes on a range of subjects, often on school specialization (mathematics for schools with a mathematical bias, etc.). Moreover, depending on the desire of the administration, special courses may be either mandatory for children or free.

A small summary: at one time I was a student of a similar Kiev school, with a rather strong mathematical, and generally olympic, bias. According to tradition, special courses are taught there not by teachers, but by former students of the school, (in particular, the special course in mathematics is conducted by inter-inter national winners and prize-winners).
The school has 4 special courses in computer science - graphics, web design, programming, and computer animation. I was invited to teach a special course on web design (which is actually the teaching of basic knowledge of html, css and the basics of js).

I have been teaching for the third year in a row, and from observations of children and their behavior in the classroom, some thoughts have appeared that I want to share here.
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Every special

Audience special course very different. Since it is easier than olympiad mathematics and programming, then the path is open not only to children from technical classes, but also humanitarian areas. In general, the contingent is very different. Someone has already tried something, for someone it's new. The first task of all is to interest the students, to entice them with the subject. Frankly, the task is not one of the most difficult, although many immediately begin to think of themselves as the future creators of the “killers of VKontakte”. However, after a small introduction, the learning process itself begins, in which groups of students are immediately distinguished:

• Ideological - most often those who have already tried something and know how, they like it and they are eager to learn more. It is a pleasure to work with them - they carry out all the tasks that are needed, they are engaged in self-development in the subject, they always come back with homework. They do not need to be forced to do something, they themselves want it .
  
• Assertive - beginners who are not faced with the subject matter. According to the essence, they are divided into 2 subcategories:
  
  1. Those who want to learn something themselves
  2. Those whose parents really want to learn this
  
  The first can be a success with long work and proper devotion to the occupations. Due to their natural perseverance, this does not provide labor for them. It is also interesting to deal with them, since they show an interest in the subject, and although they can be traced in their actions, they nevertheless fulfill ~ 80% of what they should. They do not need to be forced to do something, but sometimes they lose interest , especially if something does not come out right away. In such a case, they need to be pushed and / or motivated.
  The latter go here, because they are the obedient children of their parents, and if mother said “must,” they unconditionally fulfill the order. Feelings from classes with such children are, shall we say, strange. Yes, it is clear that the child is doing and trying. However, he constantly feels a complete or almost complete lack of interest in his subject. Tasks are performed for a tick and do not bring any pleasure in their performance. They are not interested in what they do. Although, over time and the emergence of some significant success in children usually there is more interest in the subject.
  
• Pofigisty - usually those who come to the lesson "for the company", or just to hear about what is going on here. In 99% of cases, these are one-time visitors, although there are especially persistent options that have nothing to do on the weekends and they spend time in a similar way. Such only distract the teacher and others , and quite strongly. And although they usually go to classes in groups of two or three, it still interferes.
  
• Desperate pests are those who come again at the request of their parents, but are absolutely not eager to do anything. Moreover, usually, in order to show parents how much they don’t need it, they begin to show off desperately, interfere with classes (it’s not clear why other children and the teacher themselves should suffer, but not the children of the children). It is clear that they do not linger long in the group, but there is also a small reservation:
  
  1. Children take their toll - parents take them from a special course (sometimes with a scandal). This is a favorable development.
     
  2. Parents are still confident that their child must be in class. This is a bad option, as children continue to interfere and parents are added to them with questions why their child knows and is worse than others. Is this a teacher’s bias towards a child? Usually it is very and very difficult to communicate with such parents, and what to hide will most often have to endure it until the children bring the “ancestors” to the white knee and they will not take them away.
     
  
  It is clear that the occupation with these children does not bring any moral and aesthetic pleasure .
  

My observations do not guarantee to be completely objective and fair. After all, my teaching experience is just over 2 years old.

However, should children be forced to learn if they don’t want to?

When children are forced to learn against their will, there are pros and cons.

When parents force children, they are guided by their experience, which is more than that of a child. If parents with a high bell tower can see better than a child. If knowledge really was useful, then parents will hear words of gratitude from their children. "Thank you for insisting, thank you for making." And on the contrary, if the parents succumbed to the persuasion of the child and did not “press” to the end, then they could hear such painful words for the parent’s ear as “why didn’t you insist then ?!”. From this point of view, it is even necessary to force children - the knowledge gained will be useful to them in the future.

In the other case, such violence against a child can bring only harm. Especially if the child priests his parents to start doing the opposite, not specifically preparing for the subject, skipping it. In addition, it often happens that parents are trying to have their child realize what they dreamed about, or what they could not achieve in childhood. This is a noble goal, but only if the child is predisposed to it. For example, if a child likes to play chess and is modest and small, giving it to boxing can be a lot of stress for the latter.

Summary

I believe that forcing children to do and teach what parents consider necessary. Later, they will understand whether it was useful for them or not. But you should never go too far - you need to objectively evaluate the capabilities and talents of your children.