Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs or the names of state capitals or how much corn Iowa grew last year. Cram them full of non? combustible data, chock them so damned full of 'facts' they feel stuffed, but absolutely `brilliant' with information. Then they'll feel they're thinking, they'll get…
Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs or the names of state capitals or how much corn Iowa grew last year. Cram them full of non? combustible data, chock them so damned full of 'facts' they feel stuffed, but absolutely `brilliant' with information. Then they'll feel they're thinking, they'll get a sense of motion without moving. And they'll be happy, because facts of that sort don't change. Don't give them any slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with.
Agree 1000%, Sabrina. And things like "Republicans Pass Default on America Act" or "MAGA Majority on Record: Yes to Extreme, Harmful Cuts Against Average Americans to Protect Billionaire Tax Breaks."
Here's my vote for a song: Sly and the Family Stone "I am Every Day People." The lyrics, to my mind, speak to where we are as a country in 2023. "Different strokes for different folks." "I am no better and neither are you." And it goes on...
Fortunately, governments are unable to control all students’ experiences. Yesterday I visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The exuberant groups of middle and high school students became quiet as they entered the galleries. Many took pictures. As I left one especially moving gallery, the young girl in front of me looked at her friend (both White) and said, “You know they’re not allowed to teach any of this in school any more.” I would imagine that all those young people left the museum with new understandings.
I’d wish that you were being sarcastic because the philosophies tend to change more lives than the facts of specialized jobs. For example, I still know that 1453 was the fall of Constantinople and what good does that do? Read and discuss To Kill a Mocking Bird, Brave New world,
From 2012 Platform of the Republican Party of Texas:
"Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority. "
I think that we make micro and macro decisions about veracity and value on an ongoing basis, so like having reliable, working instruments in the cockpit of an aircraft, we are wise to teach ourselves, each other, and posterity to approach the always incoming future with our best educated guesses (which is as good as it gets). Yes, we expect a well engineered bridge not to fall, but even formal science is ultimately about probability, not certainty. I prove to myself on an ongoing that I have a robust capacity for folly, but suspect that the beginning of wisdom is sensing the impact of subtle and numerous human and individual limitations. I think that keen awareness of our ginormous capacity to err is at the philosophical core of the scientific method, which works around those weaknesses somewhat.
I also think that while science can organize and illuminate questions of value, it cannot in and of itself decide them. What matters is what matters to us as sentient beings; although caring about something more than our own "punyverse" (as a friend calls it) is surely a sign of emotional maturity; a step away from the real universe's trend toward disorder and decay; the fragile yet adaptive eddies in the flow of entropy that we identify as life. I kinda think of wisdom as making better than random guesses about what's really real, and out of that, what matters most.
As I read the replies/ insightful comments (below) to JL’s post I wanted to write a reply to each but realized my reply to each would be the same.
The beliefs instilled by the entrenched repug parents that Leslie speaks of, the opposition to education that’s likely to be effective that John writes, and the idea that we “should actually teach our kids information!” Comment Ally wrote.
The beliefs entrenched in what? An education that’s likely to be effective, but effective toward what end? Teach our kids information, but what information?
My reply to each was a constant:
As long as the beliefs instilled, the information taught, the education is effectively limited toward imparting their “Christian” extremist view of the world upon their children then everything will be just fine.
———
LeslieN
“student’s fixed beliefs” like those instilled by their entrenched mindless repug parents.
John Bruner
in other word, they oppose education -- especially of it's likely to be effective.
Ally House (Oregon)
Oh, good grief! Gods forbid we should actually teach our kids information!
Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs or the names of state capitals or how much corn Iowa grew last year. Cram them full of non? combustible data, chock them so damned full of 'facts' they feel stuffed, but absolutely `brilliant' with information. Then they'll feel they're thinking, they'll get a sense of motion without moving. And they'll be happy, because facts of that sort don't change. Don't give them any slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with.
Agree 1000%, Sabrina. And things like "Republicans Pass Default on America Act" or "MAGA Majority on Record: Yes to Extreme, Harmful Cuts Against Average Americans to Protect Billionaire Tax Breaks."
Here's my vote for a song: Sly and the Family Stone "I am Every Day People." The lyrics, to my mind, speak to where we are as a country in 2023. "Different strokes for different folks." "I am no better and neither are you." And it goes on...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JvkaUvB-ec
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nczKHDCyhNo
Fortunately, governments are unable to control all students’ experiences. Yesterday I visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The exuberant groups of middle and high school students became quiet as they entered the galleries. Many took pictures. As I left one especially moving gallery, the young girl in front of me looked at her friend (both White) and said, “You know they’re not allowed to teach any of this in school any more.” I would imagine that all those young people left the museum with new understandings.
I hope they're going to the Holocaust Museum, too.
So glad you got to visit, and so glad to hear the student's words. That is a balm.
I’d wish that you were being sarcastic because the philosophies tend to change more lives than the facts of specialized jobs. For example, I still know that 1453 was the fall of Constantinople and what good does that do? Read and discuss To Kill a Mocking Bird, Brave New world,
The Old Man And the sea etc
I was assigned those three books, and others, when in 7th and 8th grade.
Same, Derek. Although it might have been 9th grade for TKaMB (although I had read it by then; one of my Mom's favorites.)
From 2012 Platform of the Republican Party of Texas:
"Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority. "
“student’s fixed beliefs” like those instilled by their entrenched mindless repug parents.
in other word, they oppose education -- especially of it's likely to be effective.
Oh, that explains a lot... and all this time, I still had hope for my friends in Austin.
PUKE
Oh, good grief! Gods forbid we should actually teach our kids information!
I think that we make micro and macro decisions about veracity and value on an ongoing basis, so like having reliable, working instruments in the cockpit of an aircraft, we are wise to teach ourselves, each other, and posterity to approach the always incoming future with our best educated guesses (which is as good as it gets). Yes, we expect a well engineered bridge not to fall, but even formal science is ultimately about probability, not certainty. I prove to myself on an ongoing that I have a robust capacity for folly, but suspect that the beginning of wisdom is sensing the impact of subtle and numerous human and individual limitations. I think that keen awareness of our ginormous capacity to err is at the philosophical core of the scientific method, which works around those weaknesses somewhat.
I also think that while science can organize and illuminate questions of value, it cannot in and of itself decide them. What matters is what matters to us as sentient beings; although caring about something more than our own "punyverse" (as a friend calls it) is surely a sign of emotional maturity; a step away from the real universe's trend toward disorder and decay; the fragile yet adaptive eddies in the flow of entropy that we identify as life. I kinda think of wisdom as making better than random guesses about what's really real, and out of that, what matters most.
😬😭🤬
😡😡😡
As I read the replies/ insightful comments (below) to JL’s post I wanted to write a reply to each but realized my reply to each would be the same.
The beliefs instilled by the entrenched repug parents that Leslie speaks of, the opposition to education that’s likely to be effective that John writes, and the idea that we “should actually teach our kids information!” Comment Ally wrote.
The beliefs entrenched in what? An education that’s likely to be effective, but effective toward what end? Teach our kids information, but what information?
My reply to each was a constant:
As long as the beliefs instilled, the information taught, the education is effectively limited toward imparting their “Christian” extremist view of the world upon their children then everything will be just fine.
———
LeslieN
“student’s fixed beliefs” like those instilled by their entrenched mindless repug parents.
John Bruner
in other word, they oppose education -- especially of it's likely to be effective.
Ally House (Oregon)
Oh, good grief! Gods forbid we should actually teach our kids information!