Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Agreements and solidifications

Recently I spoke with one of my lecturers about the education system, and the responsibility it disowns for society in favour of industry. To my surprise he completely agreed with me, saying that I had 'struck a nerve' with him on this subject. It's good to have some kind of validation from someone you admire, and someone who I feel is in quite a good position for understanding this kind of thing. As a philosopher, he has tasked himself with understanding the world; and it is both to my delight and my sorrow that he agrees with me. Come to think of it, I made a comment to another lecturer whom I had succeeded in cornering in a hallway:

"Working in a factory epitomises the ideology that is present no matter what line of work you do - you're a production worker whether you work in a factory or an office, and the mentality will always be one of being in a factory"

Which also found enthusiastic agreement. I am coming around to the idea that the views expressed by this team are simply correct, and there is no need to feel like 'outsiders' looking for some spurious revolution, as the facts are simple. It all comes down to the fact that education is not a responsible institution with regards to educating young people to be balanced and competent people in adulthood. A large part of this competence is being able to think for oneself, viz. critical thinking, the lack of which is a crucial problem for society considering the amount of insidious beliefs that knock around these days, which become ingrained before anyone gains full use of their faculties (if they ever do).

To recommend a book that highlights the epistemological problems in modern society, check out 'how mumbo-jumbo conquered the world'.


Tuesday, November 02, 2004

"Schooling in Capitalist America"

'News is Good' recently shared the following link by email. It seems relevant to post it here.

http://www.sociology.org.uk/tece1tx.htm

"People [...] have to be educated 'just enough' to become dutiful workers, citizens and consumers, but 'not enough' to understand, or seriously challenge, the prevailing economic and social system."