[clue-talk] The War On...?

[Sean LeBlanc]

On 01-03 17:25, Jed S. Baer wrote:
> On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 17:02:39 -0700
> Nate Duehr wrote:
> 
> > Every vote for things that hurt public schools is a vote to remove sound
> > judgment from the equation -- which leaves only the sentiment you speak 
> > of: OBEY.
> > 
> > School vouchers are a form of elitism that supports this idea: "The poor
> > and uneducated will ultimately OBEY my kids fiscally, because my kid's 
> > education is more important than a strong public school system and my 
> > special interest organizations (usually religious) have enough money to 
> > buy my government representative's votes."
> 
> <speeeeeeewwwwwwwww>
> 
> Only my iron self-control saved me from drenching my keyboard.
> 
> Since when has the public education system been famous for turning out
> students who understand the basis of rights? Or is it now "free speech as
> long as we like what you're saying"?
> 
> http://hq.protestwarrior.com/?page=/featured/PHS/PHS.php
> 
> Question: Which is more likely? A) Students will graduate knowing about
> Noam Chomsky, or B) Students will graduate knowing about John Locke?
> 
> If the public school system is so great, then why does it get criticisms
> such as: http://professorplum.typepad.com/my_weblog/ ?
> 
> There aren't enough hours in the day for me to track down all the stuff
> I've read over the past few years regarding the "quality" of education
> students in the public school systems get.
> 
> Look at what's happening in today's schools. Metal detectors, drug
> testing, ID cards, zero-tolerance for even prescription drugs, or OTC
> meds, GI-Joe size toy guns, etc. What the public school system looks like
> to me is an institution designed to inculcate in kids, while they're still
> young and impressionable, an attitude of conformance to the will of the
> state, and no regard for their own privacy or rights.

Apparently, this is nothing new, if you believe the
modeling-American-schools-on-the-Prussian-model thing:

http://www.fff.org/freedom/0795n.asp

<quote>
Over the years, various fads have seized the education bureaucrats of
America, but those fads have been variations on a theme: The public schools
are intended to create complacent "good citizens" - not independent
thinkers - because political leaders do not like boat-rockers who
question things too closely. They prefer citizens who pay their taxes on
time and leave them alone to chart the course of the nation. The growth in
government power since the advent of public schools is hard to ignore.

So, judged by their purpose, how have the public schools performed?

Not bad, really. Unlike our ancestors' private schools, the public schools
produce citizens who look to government to make important decisions for them
- from whether to help the poor, to what drugs to take, to how to get
an education - and solve societal problems.

In other words, the public schools are working. If we do not like what they
have achieved, then we have to junk the Prussian system and move toward an
education based on the American principles of free markets and individual
liberty. Mere reform is not enough. We need to separate school and state.
That's the only sure way to revitalize education, families, and the American
spirit.
</quote>



Funny you mention Chomsky. I think he mentions that he was actually lucky
enough to go to a school that allowed one to question things, rather than
just carry out indoctrination on folks. You can argue with the results, but
at least the guy isn't a conformist. If you churn out tons of conformists,
you don't get people who question things like "well, we are at war now, and
anyone dissenting is a hair away from treason". Personally, I think every
high school should be involved in having people read Robert Anton Wilson's
nonfiction and fiction. Certain to piss off fundamentalists of all stripes
(left and right) and the guy is no non-conformist. And honestly, I don't
think having someone come out knowing about Chomsky is all that bad. I don't
agree with the guy on much, but he seems to be thinking for himself, on his
own terms. I doubt many schools would be teaching about him in any case,
since he criticizes the indoctrination, and even liberal indoctrination is
still indoctrination.

If you believe the above, it certainly explains Channel One. If all we are
meant to be are good little consumers, best to just sit back at school and
drink in all that advertising...


-- 
Sean LeBlanc:seanleblanc at comcast.net  
There is only one terminal dignity -- love. 
-Helen Hayes