08-11-2009, 12:22 AM | #1 (permalink) | ||
Insane
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John Taylor Gatto - Modern "Education"
Confederacy of Dunces
John Taylor Gatto page An Underground History of American Education "Now dumb people aren't just ignorant; they're the victims of the non-thought of secondhand ideas. Dumb people are now well-informed about the opinions of Time magazine and CBS, The New York Times and the President; their job is to choose which pre-thought thoughts, which received opinions, they like best. The élite in this new empire of ignorance are those who know the most pre-thought thoughts. Mass dumbness is vital to modem society. The dumb person is wonderfully flexible clay for psychological shaping by market research, government policymakers; public-opinion leaders, and any other interest group. The more pre-thought thoughts a person has memorized, the easier it is to predict what choices he or she will make. What dumb people cannot do is think for themselves or ever be alone for very long without feeling crazy. That is the whole point of national forced schooling; we aren't supposed to be able to think for ourselves because independent thinking gets in the way of "professional" think-ing, which is believed to follow rules of scientific precision." ------------------ "The new dumbness - the non thought of received ideas - is much more dangerous than simple ignorance, because it's really about thought control. In school, a washing away of the innate power of individual mind takes place, a "cleansing" so comprehensive that original thinking becomes difficult. If you don't believe this development was part of the intentional design of schooling, you should read William Torrey Harris's The Philosophy of Education. Harris was the U.S. Commissioner of Education at the turn of the century and the man most influential in standardizing our schools. Listen to the man. "Ninety-nine [students] out of a hundred," writes Harris, "are automata, careful to walk in prescribed paths, careful to follow the prescribed custom." This is not all accident, Harris explains, but the "result of substantial education, which, scientifically defined, is the subsumption of the individual." Scientific education subsumes the individual until his or her behavior becomes robotic. Those are the thoughts of the most influential U.S. Commissioner of Education we've had so far. " ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also search for "Stanford Experiment". You can also see what "educated" people who were good citizens in their own country did at Abu Ghraib. There are thousands of other examples. The Nazis, the Milgram Experiment . What people who were not given the chance develop themselves and think for themselves do, when they get some freedom from supervision, from law. They can't be what we call "good" people without authority. They never learned it - and this cannot be taught, it has to come from one's own experience. Experience which is denied to them as children. By everyone around them. Parents, teachers - the system. The system itself maintained by the same robots repeating what they have been told. "Do not look at the finger or you will miss the Moon". A teacher can only point the way. Then let the student develop his own thinking. Modern schools fill people with information and do not create the environment for them to think for themselves. As free humans. Children waste their lives sitting in a room. Never really learning to be responsible for themselves. Some videos : I am not against learning, I am against "formal education". Children are not "antisocial" or "lazy". Our schools and society make them to be like that. I remember as a child doing stuff - which now seems to be as a lot of "work". Building stuff, at one time I even liked solving math problems. But hated homework. Outside of school I did lots of things - but if any of these would have been "taught" at school suddenly they would have become very boring. Liked to read - but hated anything the school gave me to read. Children like to experiment, to find out stuff . There are no "stupid children". That is a modern myth. Just bored to death by this "education". I remember how excited I was at school when we entered the chemistry lab. But we only did experiments when the teacher allowed us to. And boredom ruled again. At least 8 years of a child's life spent in a room where he is always told what to do and never allowed even to move from his seat. That is brainwashing. Conditioned to obey. Taught not to think for yourself. Because if you think - you say :"what am I doing here ?". But you can't leave. So you give up thinking. Accept the situation. Forget you are a free human - if you ever had the chance to know you are. Milgram experiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Quote:
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08-11-2009, 04:51 AM | #2 (permalink) |
Junkie
Location: Near Raleigh, NC
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I often advise my daughter, who is very bored in school, and can't stand the stupidity, to just do the minimum effort required to satisfy all the requirements of the homework she is assigned. If she works too hard the teacher will, at best, not recognize the effort, and at worst ( and this happens quite a bit ) will detract points from her work for not following the instructions to the letter. These very same teachers will write notes on her report card with the most atrocious grammar and spelling that I have ever seen from someone beyond an elementary education. My daughter, now starting the 6th grade, makes fun of their grammar often.
Public education in this country offers very little but obedience training, and they do that as poorly as they do everything else.
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08-11-2009, 07:41 AM | #4 (permalink) |
Junkie
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Such as?
Private school? Boarding school? Home-schooling? The "affordable" private schools in my area are not much better than public schools--and I can think of one that is worse (in my opinion). The nicer private schools (around here) all have some religious agenda. The secular private schools that actually have decent academic programs have tuition that is around $20,000+ Home schooling requires that either me or my wife stay home. I would love to do this for our daughter but it's not really a possibility these days. My daughter is in public school. It's actually not a bad one as far as public schools go around here. However, my wife and I stay very involved with the school and with our daughter and this makes a huge difference. She has just started second grade and her mother or I (both sometimes) sit with her for the ENTIRE time she is doing homework. We don't just sit her down and say "Do your homework." We are trying to teach her "how to learn." This will change as she gets older. The other thing about the particular school she is going to is that it has a slightly different curriculum than most of the others. Students don't just sit in their chairs all day ... even in first and second grade they go to different classrooms for certain subjects. Another point I'd like to make is that we really can't place all the blame on public schools. I do agree that the entire goal of public schools is to produce "happy little workers" but from what I can see the most damage comes from parents. The children around my daughter have no interest in learning; they have no desire to find out more than what is needed to keep the teacher happy--and some don't even care enough to do that. These are first and second graders I'm talking about. They have not been "broken" by the system yet. They arrive already broken by uncaring and neglectful parents. Last edited by vanblah; 08-11-2009 at 08:30 AM.. |
08-11-2009, 08:19 AM | #5 (permalink) |
Super Moderator
Location: essex ma
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socialization.
that's what education, particularly at the more basic levels, is. nothing more, nothing less. that it can open onto other possibilities is a result of the internal design of education as it's currently understood, so almost an accident if you see it from the viewpoint of it's larger functions. this is really obvious. personally, i am not against formal education per se---but i think the ways in which captialist social reproduction organizes information are wholly dysfunctional, and given that the primary role of formal eduction is to imprint that information organization as if it were necessary (this because it's central both to workerbee skillsets and the organization of political consent), the ways in which is reproduction in education are also dysfunctional. but at the same time, the way you are in a position to articulate that critique is through that same system. the ways in which you can imagine alternatives presuppose what you already know as a baseline. personally, i think a new bauhaus or new black mountain school would be an interesting political action in the field of education. if anyone's got a few million laying around they're not using, i have a plan.
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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite |
08-11-2009, 11:25 PM | #6 (permalink) |
Insane
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Making children sit in a chair - under threat is evil. "Discipline" ? What is that ? Tribal children - never beaten, educate, forced to do something, how come they don't all become lazy or "antisocial" ? Because their nature is not "lazy" or "antisocial" and they do not need "discipline". They need freedom to develop, to test the world around by themselves.
Read "The Continuum Concept". The author describes some tribe in Venezuela - a child age 11 was free to decide for himself where to go, to stay with her and the crew or whatever. Even if that meant going some 3 days alone with them, nobody forced his will on him. His destiny was his own. That's how you build self trust - by having the freedom to to things on your own. As a child. That's how I know I gained self trust. Later as an "educated", molded, broken , brainwashed adult is much harder. You need psychotherapy and stuff. How school should be : you have the teacher (who knows something from everything, only at college level you have separate teachers). Children go to school and sit where they like. Nobody says anything if they go outside and play. (A playground somewhere in nature would be best). But children are curious. So at first the teacher will tell them stories, even teaching them history and stuff about our world - but in the form of a story. Then he can show them other stuff, to read, to calculate, and let them freely experiment with it. They stay at school as long as they like. And I am sure they would want to stay there They will make friends there, they can play or do interesting stuff. Free. (By free I mean free to come and go as they chose). All their friends will be at "school" playing - learning new stuff, I am sure the social and curious nature of children will make them want to be there. Then the teacher starts telling them about everything : math, biology, chemistry and so on. Gives them books to read. Let's them chose what they like. No grades, no tests, no schedule. Children can compete among themselves - only if they want to. How long does school last ? As long as a child wants to. Then there will be "college" , after a child has chosen (if he has chosen) something he likes, and after he read some books about it, he goes to the university he wants. Here things are much more specialized - but he has the same freedom. Yes - simple freedom to sit anywhere, go anywhere, and come and go as he pleases. In the middle of the class. This is freedom. This forms character, to be able to decide for yourself. Not freedom like "sit here or there, but sit, do not dare to say you leave !". That is molding, and it's evil. To make the child feel he is too stupid to decide such a simple thing on his own. To make him doubt himself and make him ready to accept whatever he is told by "the smarter people above" In the end this "education" will produce anything but the worker consumer of today. Will probably produce a modern tribe, and a gift economy , no boss - servant relations, but that's something else.
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Blog One day there will be so many houses, that people will be bored and will go live in tents. "Why are you living in tents ? Are there not enough houses ?" "Yes there are, but we play this Economy game" Last edited by pai mei; 08-12-2009 at 12:32 AM.. |
08-12-2009, 12:37 AM | #7 (permalink) | |
Shade
Location: Belgium
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If you let everybody do as they please and personally feel like, there will barely be any kind of doctors/architects/engineers. Meaning there will not be any real medicine (who wants to spend his whole life indoor, making medicines in a laboratory?) or surgery, there will not be any serious buildings or communication, the ones we have will not even be able to maintain the setup we have today. In fact, we will run out of teachers very fast for anything that a tribal society has no need for.
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Moderation should be moderately moderated. |
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08-12-2009, 01:03 AM | #8 (permalink) | ||
Insane
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No.
Who would want to do that ? Alexander Fleming would. And others like him. Do you think Einstein was "working" ? He was playing. That was his play. What he liked to do. Please read my other threads, don't want to write everything again. Yes - some repetitive boring machine jobs will be gone. I described a solution about such society in the thread "Why Capitalism will never work" it's in "Tilted Economics". Don't want to write again, or mix everything up, here it was about education. Hope you agree the current system only creates slaves. The idea that Alexander Fleming is 1 in a million is a myth. This school destroys people's minds. Yes they will not be all geniuses in medicine. But they will be in the field they like. Same as any Native American was a genius in his own stuff - hunting, tracking and what they usually did. And they liked it. It was not what we call "work". http://www.ascentofhumanity.com/chapter5-5.php Quote:
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08-12-2009, 01:22 AM | #9 (permalink) |
Shade
Location: Belgium
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pai mei: Alexander Fleming and Albert Einstein can't supply the world, now can they?
The very few that would to this, would get inundated with requests from all over the world. Even if it where physically possible for them to answer them, why would they then push themselves to do this and not have any more free time to do anything else? After all, they don't take requests/orders from anybody.
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Moderation should be moderately moderated. |
08-12-2009, 01:38 AM | #10 (permalink) | |
Insane
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Please read my other threads. Do you know how many people work slave jobs after they have been molded by this "education" today ? Everybody would be a genius in his own field. Why ? Remember when you were a child, were you not "good" at what you liked most ?
Yes yes but children like to play most - you say. No. Children in tribes like to imitate what adults do. Free. See above what I mean by free Today's school bores them to death, destroys them so they end up as "stupid people" working at Mc Donald. Free children never "play". Play is never some "pass time" because they are "bored". "Boredom" is a modern invention. Play is their most important thing - because that is how free children see it and that is how they learn about the world. My idea of school will present children with all the possibilities, I am sure they will like something and learn it and be good at it. And they will see it as "play". Same as tribal children who first imitate adults - playing. http://www.ascentofhumanity.com/chapter4-2.php Quote:
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Blog One day there will be so many houses, that people will be bored and will go live in tents. "Why are you living in tents ? Are there not enough houses ?" "Yes there are, but we play this Economy game" Last edited by pai mei; 08-12-2009 at 01:42 AM.. |
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08-12-2009, 01:52 AM | #11 (permalink) |
Shade
Location: Belgium
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I've read most of your threads so far.
I know alot of people are not happy in the jobs they have. I agree that the current system is not the best way (far from it) Unfortunately, by definition, these jobs that require specific training, would happen at university. But not everybody would actually *want* to teach this. What would you do when positions start dropping left and right because of no interested parties? Where would the people that want to learn this go then? Would they go to another place, some place different? And what if in that place, the only 2 teachers already have their own share of apprentices? Does the teacher have to take on extra apprentices? And if so, how is he ever gonna get any work done? Especially with several apprentices, who all require a totally different approach, since they're all free spirits? One you have to lead, the other you have to merely point to things, the other you have to discuss with to make him see the reason, while the 4th one only requires that he has a bit of silence to think things through? Would you somehow have to work on a general way of instructing them? Perhaps a set path that you adjust a bit for each and every one? And eventually when a printing press is available, for ease (and time-saving) you have the printer make you copies of this path so that your apprentices can spend more time imitating you and less taking notes (because we can't all just memorize everything). For arts/crafts types of jobs, that a tribes/village culture has need of, your system sounds workable. For other jobs, that are "newer" it does not.
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Moderation should be moderately moderated. |
11-17-2009, 03:15 AM | #12 (permalink) | |
Insane
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So what ? Of course - you like doing what you like but say "I can't live without all this stuff produced by people who hate their lives. No way ! This stuff is needed !".
Let people be happy. If they want more stuff, they will be happy to work for it. If not - no. Give them this choice. http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/tilted-...ever-work.html How is that gonna work ? Teachers and apprentices ? Read the above link. In such an organization - there is no pressure for things to "work". People will call themselves "teachers" if they want to. The day they stop wanting, the day they feel bored, or disappointed - they stop teaching. Same applies - for their "Students". Imagine - nobody would be bored, or disturb the teacher - because he is there by his own will.... "Imagination is more important than knowledge" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein Quote:
http://paimei01.blogspot.com/2009/11/to-learn.html Around 1900: Rockefeller's General Education Board "In our dreams. . . people yield themselves with perfect docility to our molding hands. . . . We shall not try to make these people or any of their children into philosophers or men of learning or men of science. We have not to raise up from among them authors, educators, poets, or men of letters. We shall not search for embryo great artists, painters, musicians, nor lawyers, doctors, preachers, politicians, statesmen, of whom we have ample supply. The task we set before ourselves is very simple. . . we will organize children . . . and teach them to do in a perfect way the things their fathers and mothers are doing in an imperfect way.
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Blog One day there will be so many houses, that people will be bored and will go live in tents. "Why are you living in tents ? Are there not enough houses ?" "Yes there are, but we play this Economy game" Last edited by pai mei; 11-17-2009 at 03:31 AM.. |
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12-29-2009, 11:51 PM | #13 (permalink) | ||
Insane
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An Underground History of American Education - page 31
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Blog One day there will be so many houses, that people will be bored and will go live in tents. "Why are you living in tents ? Are there not enough houses ?" "Yes there are, but we play this Economy game" |
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12-30-2009, 07:43 PM | #14 (permalink) |
Addict
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Watched this guys videos and laughed because I have been saying for years what this guy is saying.
Half of those people I spoke with were union driven teachers who believed they were the second coming of Christ, but would strike at the drop of a dime if come contract time they didn't get their 12-14% over 3 years,...they didn't like what I had to say. The other half were people in general whose eyes would glaze over in the first minute. Not that I cared what they thought,...but most of them had children starting their careers in the education system but they had absolutely 100% trust their kids would get a good education. Oh well,..we reap what we sow |
12-30-2009, 07:52 PM | #15 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: Fort Worth, TX
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Just because you wish tribal societies to be the perfect society does not make is so. Making stuff up in support of your argument only nullifies it.
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"Smite the rocks with the rod of knowledge, and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth." - Ashbel Smith as he laid the first cornerstone of the University of Texas |
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01-01-2010, 07:09 AM | #16 (permalink) | ||||
Insane
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Their children want to be part of the group. The group accepts them with no conditions. But they conform because they are social.
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Amazon.com: The Continuum Concept: In Search Of Happiness Lost (Classics in Human Development) (9780201050714): Jean Liedloff: Books
Adopt an Adult Orphan, by Jean LiedloffQuote:
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Blog One day there will be so many houses, that people will be bored and will go live in tents. "Why are you living in tents ? Are there not enough houses ?" "Yes there are, but we play this Economy game" Last edited by pai mei; 01-01-2010 at 07:16 AM.. |
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01-11-2010, 09:42 AM | #17 (permalink) |
I change
Location: USA
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This is a significant discussion. Gatto is one of the very important voices discussing education as it is practiced. Education is often - almost always, socialization, as roachboy indicates. It can be something different, however. There is some good discussion and practice occurring in what is being called "mindfulness education." That's a bit of a catch-all, of course. But it is not too difficult to conceive of far more humanistic approaches to this most human of subjects - even though "humanistic education" as a conventional thing has turned into just another form of socialization. So real progress is by no means simple on this path.
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