American Public Education

[Theory5]

Why is public education so biased? Why does it produce consumers but very few critial thinkers? Who did this, and why? I doubt the board of education came together and said "we got $$$$ from company so and so, maybe we should help them out."

Was it a gradual thing? Are educators even aware of it?

[coberst]

An oligarchy controls public policy in America. The oligarchy consists of those who manage the great wealth of American institutions. This oligarchy designs our educational system to graduate good producers and consumers and does not desire independent thinkers.

 

CA (Corporate America) has developed a well-honed expertise in motivating the population to behave in a desired manner. Citizens as consumers are ample manifestation of that expertise. CA has accomplished this ability by careful study and implementation of the knowledge of the ways of human behavior. I suspect this same structure applies to most Western democracies.

 

A democratic form of government is one wherein the citizens have some voice in some policy decisions. The greater the voice of the citizens the better the democracy.

 

In America we have policy makers, decision makers, and citizens. The decision makers are our elected representatives and are, thus, under some control by the voting citizen. The policy makers are the leaders of CA; less than ten thousand individuals, according to those who study such matters. Policy makers exercise significant control of decision makers by controlling the financing of elections.

 

Policy makers customize and maintain the dominant ideology in order to control the political behavior of the citizens. This dominant ideology exercises the political control of the citizens in the same fashion as the consuming citizen is controlled by the same dominant ideology.

 

An enlightened citizen is the only means to gain more voice in more policy decisions. An enlightened citizen is much more than an informed citizen. Critical thinking is the only practical means to develop a more enlightened citizen. If, however, we wait until our CT trained grade-schoolers become adults I suspect all will be lost. This is why I think a massive effort must be made to convince today’s adults that they must train themselves in CT.

 

 

“Thomas R. Dye, Professor of Political Science at Florida State University, has published a series of books examining who and what institutions actually control and run America. to understand who is making the decisions that affect our lives, we also have to understand how societies structure themselves in general. Why the few always tend to share more power than the many and what this means in terms of both a society's evolution and our daily lives. they examined the other 11 institutions that exert just as powerful a shaping influence, although somewhat more subtle: The Industrial, Corporations, Utilities and Communications, Banking, Insurance Investment, Mass Media, Law, Education Foundation, Civic and Cultural Organizations, Government, and the Military.”

Newsletter Info

[Theory5]

An enlightened citizen is the only means to gain more voice in more policy decisions. An enlightened citizen is much more than an informed citizen. Critical thinking is the only practical means to develop a more enlightened citizen. If, however, we wait until our CT trained grade-schoolers become adults I suspect all will be lost. This is why I think a massive effort must be made to convince today’s adults that they must train themselves in CT.

 

But if our kids should not be trained to be a CT right off the bat, then they should atleast be prepared to think like critical thinkers. But they are not. There could be, should be, a structure within the structure of education. The first structure should be to teach the kids what they need to learn, to expand their minds and get them ready for the world. The second structure should be within the first, to teach kids to think critially to show them many different ways of thought, and ways of looking at things. History should be taught by looking at different view points. Different view points in world events. Etc. Etc.

[coberst]

Why are adults so fearful of self-actualizing self-learning? When I mention it everyone seems to run away and hide. Has our educatioal system instilled this great fear of self-reliance?

[Theory5]

Why are adults so fearful of self-actualizing self-learning? When I mention it everyone seems to run away and hide. Has our educatioal system instilled this great fear of self-reliance?

our society today fears knowlege. Learning means work for some, and in this day of self-gratification and ignorance, work means unplesantness to most people. Most people find school to be tough and useless to them because they do not value knowlege or education or have had unplesant experiences in school. Before people will start self education society (the majority) must value education. Sadly, thats the way our society works, people follow others instead of thinking for themselves.

[Theory5]

An interesting quote came to mind by Oscar Wild "Nothing Worth Learning Can Ever Be Taught"

[Ganoderma]

""we got $$$$ from company so and so, maybe we should help them out.""

 

actually ya. when i went to high school (canada) coke sponsored the sports teams and gave them some stuff like uniforms, scoreboards etc. so they got their names printed all over the place. The really atrocious thing was that in a school photo (basketball team) a kid wore a pepsi shirt and the principle told him to change or he could not be in the photo. This is also a school that did not allow unhealthy foods in the cafeteria, except coca cola things liek sprite and crap....its pathetic really.

 

i also think that if more people went to Asia and saw the true style kids are taught in many "first class" countries, i would say it is far worse than even the states. sure the kids here are smarter than north america in the sense they can remember things and score high on IQ tests....but get them to hang a picture and you'll be there fixing the house for a week.

 

i am starting to think that in asian countries there is not the freedom and social aspects to school, at least not as much, and students tend to "know" a lot of things from books but lack the common sense and ability to actually use things outside of the books context. in north america i found that common sense was at least more so there (definitely not always lol) and the social end of life as a student was the top priority. but we dont know as much things and tend to look a little more stupid on test day.....but we can hang that damn picture!

 

strangely i find the depression/mental state, stress level to be not so different between the 2 areas, at least in my own little worlds. asia they worry about getting good tests to get good jobs, in NA they worry about getting laid and having a date on dance day. neat world ;)

[lemit]

Theory5.

 

Is the Wilde quote from "The Artist As Critic?" I haven't read that essay in 40 years, but it informs much of my thinking about art, literature, thought, and learning.

 

The decisions of school boards, in my limited experience, are generally informed by fear. Anyone who has ever been victimized by Zero Tolerance has possibly noticed the scent of hormones in the air.

 

There are two ways of approaching bureaucratic fear. You can make the mildest of threats and watch the emanating waves that seem to defy nature and grow as they leave their source.

 

Or, you can corporately provide a comfort level that school boards rarely feel. They will be in your debt and in your corner forever.

 

Therefore, the solution to the capture of influence by corporations is not to make the school boards afraid. That will likely make them panic and crash into each other, thus nullifying any benefits their fear could have generated.

 

Instead, if you offer your own insulation, they will scurry into it like nesting mice. As with mice, paper is excellent nesting material. If you offer them posters, pamphlets, handouts, and--publicly, for school programs--paper money, they will love you and do whatever you want.

 

In other words, and to the surprise of nobody, corporations know Machiavelli. Other people should learn him to approach a school board (or any other public body).

 

Trust me. And trust yourself. Don't let the scent of anger fill your board meeting. You know where that will lead.

 

--lemit

[Theory5]

Theory5.

 

Is the Wilde quote from "The Artist As Critic?" I haven't read that essay in 40 years, but it informs much of my thinking about art, literature, thought, and learning.

 

Im not sure lemit, I heard that quote from the TV show "The Outer Limits" I belive the episode was "Stream of Consciousness"

 

The decisions of school boards, in my limited experience, are generally informed by fear. Anyone who has ever been victimized by Zero Tolerance has possibly noticed the scent of hormones in the air.

 

There are two ways of approaching bureaucratic fear. You can make the mildest of threats and watch the emanating waves that seem to defy nature and grow as they leave their source.

 

Interesting idea Lemit. I know of the "Zero Tolerance" policy, and our school based pretty much every policy on it from dealing with fights and harrassment to student computer access as well as using it as an excuse to censor what gets posted around the school (everything that is hung up or distributed must have a "stamp of approval").

 

I find that your idea seems to fit. Unfortunatly they use the Zero Tolerance policy in the way it was supposed to be used, to cover the schools @$$. Oh sure, its to help protect us, keep us safe, prevent harm. Unless you actually look at their entire policy. Harrassment: In school suspension; Fighting: In school suspension; Disobedience: In school suspension; Running in the halls: In school suspension; Not doing your homework X5: In school suspension. And the list goes on. Last year a teacher kept telling us to stop talking, and then once we did one of my friends sneezed and his punishment was: In school suspension.

These are just some forms of control they are subjecting us to. They make us sign papers that say we "understand" even though we are minors and our signatures doesnt count for squat. They make us sacrifice our rights to stay "safe", safly under their control that is.

 

Obediance and compliance is the name of their game. Every day when we step through those doors we give up our constitutional rights. We are forced to learn what they teach, and belive it. They could've taught us that 2+2=5 and no one would have known. They teach us other abserd things like that Cristopher Columbus was a great man and was a hero for finding America, neglecting to tell us that when he met the Awaks and the Hatians he and his men set about inslaving them for England, and they beat many of them sensless because they thought there were "fields of gold". They never taught us about Bacons rebellion, or how George Washington delt with mutineering troops (it wasnt really bad, I just think it was interesting enough to go in the history books). They only breifly mention the expansion, and they mention a treaty or two with the indians, but they never said how we constantly went back on those promises, or what any of the indian Chiefs speeches were. Our History is over ripe with horrors, and we have inflicted more than our fair share of them. They have us analyze poems and liturature and they have us give our "opinion" ( I learned long ago all they wanted us to do was recap or dumb down what happened in the poem or book). They do not subject us to poems that provoke thought, at least until we are too brainwashed to listen to it.

[lemit]

Theory5,

 

You are hopelessly mature for your age.

 

Please try to remember that your school years will at some time in the future be a relatively meaningless blip in your past, as opposed to the relatively meaningless eternity they seem like now.

 

So, what can you get out of them? Your practice of just recapitulating what was said to you is a good start. You know, if you work at that enough, combining, separating, and recombining the ideas, in that act of creation you will find yourself actually learning.

 

The best you can hope for from school, aside from honing skills of self-expression, is access to all the information that kind of blows down the empty hallways and props up the trashcans. The head-on educational experience is intended to not leave any child behind nor propel any child ahead. It is intended to grind all brains to a pulp which is then called the future of the country. God help us.

 

It doesn't have to be that way for you as an individual. You can read the essays of Oscar Wilde. Besides "The Critic As Artist," try his notes from "Reading Gaol."

 

About Columbus, try "1491." One of my favorite novels is "Little Big Man." To fend off the other end of the spectrum, check out Twain's "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses."

 

And so on. Challenge yourself. Don't expect the challenge to come from formal education. I didn't challenge myself. I depended on my ability to write to keep from having to learn anything. I regret that deeply now.

 

I should tell you that my first two years of school were in a one-room schoolhouse. I listened to all the lessons, read the library, and was horrified when I found out I needed to go to a town school. That was the end of my usefulness in school, although I eventually did some postgraduate work (in educational philosophy).

 

I ended up eventually working in a college library and, for five years, supervising a herd of student employees doing public service. I tried to teach them, in a less concentrated fashion, what I have been trying to tell you. For example, when valuable, unique programs were closed so the money could be spent on sports, I reminded them that the primary purpose of a university is to raise money. The students and I loved each other, and that transmitted easily to the public. Of course, as soon as it was feasible, that job was taken away from me, although the students voted me their favorite supervisor and the users voted our service their favorite in the library. The student employees returned to their accustomed cynicism, I retired, and all was right with the world. The students I supervised have gone on mostly to IT and library jobs, no matter what they wanted to be when we met. I'm proud of all of them.

 

So, please feel free to say here those things you would get into a world of trouble for saying in school. I will enjoy helping.

 

--lemit

[freeztar]

Theory5,

 

I felt the same way in high school. It really pissed me off! :D

But, college is right around the corner and you will likely be relieved of such feelings. I know I was. :beer:

[lemit]

Theory5,

 

I felt the same way in high school. It really pissed me off! :)

But, college is right around the corner and you will likely be relieved of such feelings. I know I was.

 

I wasn't. (Except in journalism.)

 

--lemit

[dannieyankee]

I got this quote from the Wikipedia page of American Education:

"15 year olds ranked 24th of 38 in mathematics, 19th of 38 in science, 12th of 38 in reading, and 26th of 38 in problem solving.[79] In the 2006 assessment, the U.S. ranked 35th out of 57 in mathematics and 29th out of 57 in science. "

 

I am not sure whether or not other countries have students like this, particularly in Europe, but in America the attitude is 'School sucks'. There are so many unintelligent students wasting space in public classrooms, and I blame some of these problems on a number of things.

 

1) The Media.

2) The poorly organised education system.

3) Lack of Government control in education.

4) Greed of schools

5) Incompetence of teachers

6) Lack of specialised skills in public schools.

 

I'll address each issue individually, starting from the bottom up.

 

The fact remains that many elementary and middle school teachers are not prepared to teach appropriate classes; one teacher will explain basic arithmetic, phonics, reading, and a bit of history and science. Teachers should get a more extensive training system, with less focus on being a babysitter and more focus on teaching a more advanced, structured class. Kids should NOT be leaving elementary knowing 5 + x = 7 with x = 2 as the extent of their advanced mathematics. The way I see it, elementary age children should be learning 5x + y = 3, 1x + 4y = 7, and be able to solve for both x and y. The separation of what constitutes as advanced and what does not is a major problem.

 

 

Schools are trying to make money off their students. Simple as that. The Government needs to be able to provide PROPER FUNDING for each and every school; School Districts would pay the salaries; government pays for everything else, with PROPER EDUCATIONAL BOOKS AND DEVICES. For example - recently, the school district chose a book for our AP World History class. That book was the worst out of all the choices, and yet they chose it. For that reason, the REVIEW BOOK - one that students bought themselves - was much more competent than the actual AP Book, which was not in a format that would assist in the development of World History knowledge at the AP level. Why did they choose it? Because it was cheaper than the other books, which had more information in an easier-to-remember format.

 

In High School (at least where I'm from), the schedule for years goes as follows: 9th grade = Algebra I, Earth Space Science, World History, and basic English I. 10th grade = Geometry, Biology, no required history, and English II. 11th = Algebra II, Chemistry, US Government, and English III. 12th grade = Any other math (required one more year), Any other science (not required), Economics, and English IV.

I propose that a better 'schedule' would be:

9th - Geometry, Earth Space Science, US Government, and a more advanced English curriculum.

10th - Algebra I, Biology, Economics, and a more advanced English curriculum

11th - Algebra II, Chemistry, European Governments, and American Literature

12th - Any advanced mathematics, such as Pre-Cal or Stat, any science, such as Physics or advanced Bio/Chem, World History, and British Literature

 

That way, the Algebras follow each other, the sciences remain at the level of difficulty as well as a more proper math for each subject, the social studies are in general, based on the difficulty of each class ,and you actually learn more about English in each class, covering most grammar and vocabulary skills in 9th and 10th and actually learning about poetry and interpretation in 11th and 12th.

 

Finally, the media - students are far too caught up on all the press coverage of popular celebrities and TV shows CENTRED SOLELY on dating and high school teens.

 

The lax uniforms and school policies allow for students to bring their iPods and other media devices to schools. Students with poor respect and manners are kept in the same classroom as those who are not, thus keeping the more able and willing students from being able to succeed, because there is not enough separation between students. There are basically a few LOOSE classifications for students - Regular, ESE, Gifted/AP Gifted, and Honors/AP.

 

I propse this: Regular, for Students WILLING and DESIRING to learn more and advance themselves,

Honors/AP for the students both willing and able to handle a more advanced curriculum, which WILL be provided, contrary to some modern Honors classes, Gifted/AP Gifted for students WITH both a desire to further themselves AND an advanced IQ (you can't only be high-IQ worthy, you also have to be WILLING), ESE for those who are willing to learn but have some learning disabilities (not retarded, just not as intelligent as the normal population), and then Specialised Education for those who are not willing to learn (this is both a basis of all required knowledge of high school and a sort of therapy program, one that discovers why a student does not want to learn and how to help them as much as possible. Might require psychologists and patience.)

 

I also propose a sort of 'tougher uniform policy'. Sure, for PE students can change into t-shirts and basketball shorts, but in school, that classic button-up shirt and tie should be mandated. BOTH boys and girls have the option of wearing pants or shorts, but they would be required despite gender, to wear the tie and have a jacket with the school logo.

 

Maybe it's just me, but American schools have these 'cliques' not seen in other places such as Britain. Maybe that's a big problem?

[Theory5]

The lax uniforms and school policies allow for students to bring their iPods and other media devices to schools. Students with poor respect and manners are kept in the same classroom as those who are not, thus keeping the more able and willing students from being able to succeed, because there is not enough separation between students.

Sounds like you are saying the conformity is the same as doing better...... I know what you mean though when you say that other kids are keeping the ones who can suceed from suceeding. Its all about what other kids think about them :-/

 

ESE for those who are willing to learn but have some learning disabilities (not retarded, just not as intelligent as the normal population)[/qoute]

Careful, there. A learning disability does not automatically mean that they are not as intellegent as the 'normal' as you put it, people. ADHD is classified as a learning disability yet it does not affect my intellegence. There are hundreds of thousands of people that are smarter than average even though they have learning disabilities.

[dannieyankee]

Sounds like you are saying the conformity is the same as doing better...... I know what you mean though when you say that other kids are keeping the ones who can suceed from suceeding. Its all about what other kids think about them :-/

 

ESE for those who are willing to learn but have some learning disabilities (not retarded, just not as intelligent as the normal population)[/qoute]

Careful, there. A learning disability does not automatically mean that they are not as intellegent as the 'normal' as you put it, people. ADHD is classified as a learning disability yet it does not affect my intellegence. There are hundreds of thousands of people that are smarter than average even though they have learning disabilities.

 

Well, I personally believe that a large majority (probably up to the 90 percents) of ADD/ADHD patients are just kids who don't like math or science or whatever class they're in and their parents say that 'no, my child isn't immature, he just has a disability'. But that's another debate altogether.

 

I realise that not all mental problems do not make you unintelligent; people with autism could be geniuses, for one - and schizos could be masters at something. What I meant was impairments of logical and comprehensive thought, as in a sort of repression of the mind, one that does not allow you to advance very far, such as mental retardation, quite a few autistic cases (not the genius kind), down syndrome, ect. Things that can actually cause you to have social and mental impairments. Forgive me for my generalisation.

 

And I didn't mean conformity; I respect kids' rights. However, I believe that in a learning environment, your priority isn't to speak out on your beliefs or express individuality, which is what schools are becoming - school is for school. The mall, the cinema, the park, those are places of self-expression, where your main priority is your friends. However, in school, it's becoming more and more of a 'hang-out', where kids show off their most recent skater shoes, their wicked sweatshirts, their cool jeans. At least in my school, kids fight for no uniform under the impression that they deserve freedom of speech. Well, I agree. They do. But school is not a public forum of expression. It is a school, an environment of learning.

[coberst]

Public policy is to restrict the view of citizens to those matters that will best enhance GDP. GDP is not enhanced by independent critical thinking citizens.

 

William Graham Sumner, a distinguished anthropologist states the ideal:

 

“The critical habit of thought, if usual in a society, will pervade its entire mores, because it is a way of taking up the problems of life.”

 

Just as a critical habit of thought pervades the entire mores of a society so does a naive habit of thought pervade the mores of a society.

 

Quickie from wiki: “Blinders, also known as blinkers or winkers, are a piece of horse tack that restricts the horse's vision to the rear and, in some cases, to the side. They usually are made of leather or plastic cups that are placed on either side of the eyes, either attached to a bridle or to an independent hood. Many racehorse trainers believe this keeps the horse focused on what is in front of him, encouraging him to pay attention to the race rather than other distractions, such as crowds. Additionally, blinkers (then usually known as winkers) are commonly seen on driving horses, to keep them from being distracted or spooked, especially on crowded city streets. A “set of winkers” can refer to the whole bridle, particularly the heavy bridle used on draft horses.”

 

Our culture and its associated educational system prepare young people for the work place so that as they reach adulthood they can easily assimilate into a work force that will help to maximize production and consumption, i.e. they will help maximize GDP. Our educational system graduates young people with a “set of winkers” sturdily attached to the cultural tack that will restrict the individual’s intellectual vision to those personal and community activities that will best enhance national GDP.

 

As a result our citizens are not prepared to deal with the complexities that result from our ingeniously developed high tech culture.

[dannieyankee]

Public policy is to restrict the view of citizens to those matters that will best enhance GDP. GDP is not enhanced by independent critical thinking citizens.

 

William Graham Sumner, a distinguished anthropologist states the ideal:

 

“The critical habit of thought, if usual in a society, will pervade its entire mores, because it is a way of taking up the problems of life.”

 

Just as a critical habit of thought pervades the entire mores of a society so does a naive habit of thought pervade the mores of a society.

 

Quickie from wiki: “Blinders, also known as blinkers or winkers, are a piece of horse tack that restricts the horse's vision to the rear and, in some cases, to the side. They usually are made of leather or plastic cups that are placed on either side of the eyes, either attached to a bridle or to an independent hood. Many racehorse trainers believe this keeps the horse focused on what is in front of him, encouraging him to pay attention to the race rather than other distractions, such as crowds. Additionally, blinkers (then usually known as winkers) are commonly seen on driving horses, to keep them from being distracted or spooked, especially on crowded city streets. A “set of winkers” can refer to the whole bridle, particularly the heavy bridle used on draft horses.”

 

Our culture and its associated educational system prepare young people for the work place so that as they reach adulthood they can easily assimilate into a work force that will help to maximize production and consumption, i.e. they will help maximize GDP. Our educational system graduates young people with a “set of winkers” sturdily attached to the cultural tack that will restrict the individual’s intellectual vision to those personal and community activities that will best enhance national GDP.

 

As a result our citizens are not prepared to deal with the complexities that result from our ingeniously developed high tech culture.

 

The culture of the US is that 'We the GREATEST country ever, but you're so, so screwed if you try to leave.' They don't educate us like the rest of the world (who, by the way, can be considered 'more intelligent'.) They make it nearly impossible for someone to transfer countries - try moving to England with your license. Get a new one, apparently. Your Bachelor's degree? Not really as high as it is in the States.

 

We really should be able to 'Europeanise' the states - not government-wise, necessarily, but education-wise. It's the GDP that believes that the power of ONE EFFING NATION overrules the power of like TWENTY.