Mal Education /shando/

The biggest problem with the educational system at all levels is they focus on training kids so they can get a better job. The kid is a replacement part for the economic system. This is just a modern idea and maybe will be discarded at some time in the future. Right now you need a Phd from the right school to stay on the gravy train until the time to replace you comes. Lesser schools generate lesser valued spare parts. Its wonderful for those who go along.

Jim,

I'm not sure this is the biggest problem we face re the educational system, but it certainly is a problem. I fear however that it is largely unavoidable, at least for now.

Even in my hypothetical 'free and just world' it would be necessary for us to 'manufacture replacement parts' as the ones in use today 'wear out', but at least the process would be smoother and less expensive. You can't just take a baby out of the delivery room and install it in a corporation or small business. First you have to upgrade the hardware, and install some software, and field test it. This is strongly iterative process and takes about 15 to 20 years on average. And even then they don't all work the same. Some don't work at all.

Like you, I also look forward to the time when we can stop worrying about where our food, clothing, shelter and transportation come from. Then we can stop learning what someone else needs us to know and start learning what we want to know. Learning (and teaching) will stop being survival skills and start being personal growth processes.

And actually, I don't think we are more than a few decades away from that.

LB

Overwhelmed! That is what I am feeling LB. You have opened many doors simultaneously, and I am having trouble organizing my thoughts to prepare a coherent response. It may take a while, but I am going to keep trying.

shando,

Take your time. No rush. In fact, any big project is best approached by focusing on one part at a time. So spend some time looking into each of these doors you see. Then pick something that puzzles you or intrigues you, and lets discuss it.

Later, we can do the next thing. That's part of why I divided my responses like I did. If this thread becomes popular it is likely to spawn several child treads to focus on one detail or another.

LB

Anyone else is welcome to join in, make comments and ask questions. I hope to learn from this as well as teach. Learning is probably the most fun thing I have ever done.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Jim</i>
<br />The <b> biggest problem </b> with the educational system at all levels is they focus on training kids so they can get a better job.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

You may be right Jim. Your comment led me to ask myself "What is the purpose of the educational system?"

Maybe if we start with this question and reach consensus about the (say) top five answers, we will be able to develop a replacement for the paradigm in place at present.
I will start:

Purpose of the educational system:

(1) To prepare/equip the next generation with the knowledge and skills needed to successfully participate in our society. Among other things, this includes making the students employable.

(2) To enable members of the next generation to reach their full potential to enjoy life as individuals.

(3) To provide a baby-sitter service, enabling students' parents to both work so that the family may enjoy a standard of living above the poverty line.

Shando, The educational system clearly states its mission as a way to improve a persons value over a life time. It has developed into an idea that only by getting the right credits will a person succeed over time. Then an average young person gets a card to charge whatever and has to work for years just to get free again. How would anyone call this system anything other than making replacement parts?