Learned Helplessness: The Real Curriculum of Public Schools
Learning that Abe Lincoln was anti-slavery (he wasn't) and that the US is a "world hero government" (it's not) may be detrimental to a young person's development and education, but the most detrimental lesson is an implicit one. Namely, that we are never to think for ourselves, but to always defer to some external authority who "knows better." This is the deadly poison that brews the types of unthinking, unfeeling, scared and cowardly, violence-prone societies we live in today all around the world.
How can we stop this? By loving ourselves and loving our kids! And if we love them, we will teach them that they can lead themselves, and help and guide them to do so.
I hope you will enjoy these short observations from today, spurred on by my time this morning in the Japanese preschool/kindergarten where I currently work.
Cheers.
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~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as DTube and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)
I've your meandering rambles dude!
The Government training camps have been the most insipid part of the control mechanism over the last century or so.
Teaching kids to rat each other out for minor indiscretions is the evil genius part of the plan, it follows into adult life guaranteeing obedience.
What never ceases to fucking amuse and amaze me is that parents are now buying teachers gifts at the end of each semester/term as thanks for turning their kids into fucking trained drones! Parents have been forced to delegate the upbringing of their kids to the state by an economic system that has impoverished them therefore forcing them to both work fulltime just to get by.
There are no teachers in state school only repeaters, they're not capable of critical thought and therefore can't teach it, it's sad.
I know a few 'teachers' and on the whole they're as dumb as a box of rocks, they only know what they were taught, they've never self taught by going out and researching for themselves.
It's a sad state of affairs my man.
Great post, resteemed.
Lol. Thanks for making me laugh tonight man. That is fucking stupid as hell and darkly hilarious. So absurd, as you say.
Yeah man. Out of all the teachers I had, one or two were on the verge of real critical thought. They were cool, and cared about people, but never got far enough to get all the way out. Thanks for the resteem, and good to hear from you again. Missed your presence around here the past few weeks.
No worries buddy.
I was on a trip to the ‘Land of the Free’.
As RATM sang “Whoever told you that is your enemy!” 😂
Fuck yeah!
I never thought myself in public schools about financial literacy, the oligarch and the federal reserve, it is good that i already knew it since my 20's. :)
Lots of misinformation taught in school that is for sure. I am lucky enough to have a 4th grade teacher who pointed out the incorrectness of our Science Book. The book said there were no bald eagles in Alaska. I figured if they could misinform kids about that then all the rest must be bullshit too. That started my peaceful journey into anarchy :)
:)
Excellent my brother. Also, public school runs on the assumption that education could never be cool enough in our culture to warrant the demand in the market. Sad.
Too true. The very statement “X makes LEARNING FUN” is an implicit message that learning is a chore. It’s fucking ugly. Pardon my French, but when we rape children of their innate and intrinsic love of learning by sending the message that learning is a chore, it kills their natural spark of curiosity inside, slowly but surely dulling their zest and zeal for life, and their natural, insatiable curiosity and appetite for knowledge. It’s a tragedy and travesty of the most putrid, egregious, and patheticly evil degree.
Great post. What do you think is the reason for the problems in education? Some people think that the elite has build it this way to keep us down. However, I believe it is a consequence of repeated individual failure. However, it ends up playing in favour of the elite. Since you are at least partially in the system I am curious to hear your opinion.
Thank you.
Yeah, I’ve been in the public schools as well. Been in “education” for over 10 years now. I am 100% convinced it has been designed this way. Those who created the system have even said so openly, in so many words. Have you read any John Holt or John Taylor Gatto? Mind-blowing, beautiful, and inspiring stuff from the mouths of dudes who were well inside the machine.
Regardless of one’s view on the intentionality of it or not, however, like you say, the end result is the same. And it’s a tragic one.
It was very clear to me that certain parts are intentionally designed, for example football is just a huge show to promote patriotism.
On the positive side, if the schools systems are designed from the top, that means we can have hope to change them. In the end all humans have flaws and the people wanting to hold us as prisoners are far from perfect. Technology is on our side this time and eventually they'll fail.
If you get a chance, check out this short video. Highlight's John Taylor Gatto's resignation letter and basically sums up why I hate public schools.
Fortunately, we are about to see a major paradigm shift in education due to the fact that submissive automatons are no longer very useful in the new economy. But we can probably get it to happen faster and more beautifully by promoting unschooling, peaceful parenting, and child led education.
It's stressful to me as a mother in the us because if I homeschool my kids, they need to pass specific academic tests so how can I protect them from the likes of historya class?
Everyone is in a different situation. I totally understand that some folks can’t homeschool/unschool at present. I survived the camp, even with my parents supporting it. You can do wonders for your kids by teaching them the truth at home. Thanks for commenting and godspeed and God bless!
I always teach them at home that we live and think differently than most people around us. They get it and it's comforting. They are only 2 and 4 right now but so intelligent and understanding.
Loving ourselves is what we never do...the thing we need most...we should first put ourselves before anything .....if we are happy everything in the surrounding we see will happen to be happy.....
Hi friend ,yes absolutly general public have been always becoming a pray in the hands of invisible hands.So yes it is our duty to guide and protect the new generation so that they can look the real picture of the system.
My kids start school this year and I am quite concerned. I once read that if someone when to sleep 100 years ago and woke up, the only thing they would still recognize is a classroom. Since it's essentially unchanged, expect slate has been replaced with smart-boards.