giving them a far broader view of the world and of the scope of knowledge they might wish to pursue later. — Vera Mont
Seems to me that history, politics and critical thinking remain important. How to teach those in an environment of tribalism would be challenging. — Tom Storm
But you absolve parents from the responsibility of rearing their own children, institutionalizing them, leading to the very conditions you fear. Not to mention it is immoral to take and raise another’s child without their permission. — NOS4A2
Some parents have the leisure to home-school their children - usually in order to indoctrinate them into a religion of fear, prejudice and punishment. But most people have to make a living, and they are not given the choice of working hours, during which the children would be unsupervised. Most people can't afford a nanny or private tutors; those who can send their children to private schools to make the necessary social contacts and the way into 'good' universities.
In some communities, it would be feasible to set up a learning program conducted by whichever adults have specific knowledge and time to devote. There are initiatives in that general direction
All power to them. — NOS4A2
Let me know your thoughts and any additional knowledge and views on the education system and schools. — pursuitofknowlege
And then moral education is completely absent. There is a lot on following rules and consequences, but I recall virtually nothing on "what is truly good." — Count Timothy von Icarus
Conscientious teachers do try - if informally, as part of the normal classroom procedure - to instill a sense of fairness and tolerance. In a diverse society, these are the most important values. And this is exactly what privileged education does not do.I kind of agree, but how would you teach 'the good' in a world where there is no agreement on what the good is or if it is anything more than perspectival. — Tom Storm
There are not many such societies anymore. Perhaps none.Education would seem to be lot easier in a culture where pluralism and diversity don't exist. — Tom Storm
I kind of agree, but how would you teach 'the good' in a world where there is no agreement on what the good is or if it is anything more than perspectival.
I do agree that ethics is a particularly thorny issue, but it's also a particularly important one. It doesn't need to be a particularly thorny issue. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Of course, not everyone will agree, but that hardly seems like a problem. Not everyone agrees that the Earth isn't flat, or that vaccines work, yet that is rightly not a determinant factor in what gets taught. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Plato's being ruled over by the rational part of the soul seems like a virtue that could have wide support. I don't see much of Aristotle's virtues raising too many hackles either. But you tend to only get these in pre-school, even though their application in the real world is quite complex. — Count Timothy von Icarus
At 77, it's been a long time since I was in school — BC
Thanks to an intervention, I attended a state college. It was tremendously valuable in terms of acquiring some social skills and general knowledge (I majored in English). The degree itself was still very useful in 1968 — BC
A big, hierarchical society can afford to waste a portion of its human resources in order to keep the population under control; it can waive the benefits of each member reaching his or her potential in favour of a few gaining more power and wealth. — Vera Mont
Is there truly "no agreement?" People seem to agree on a lot of the basics. For example, no one seems to think that being ruled over by instinct, circumstance, and desire, with no rational reflection on one's impulses is a good thing. There seems to be a fairly wide agreement on epistemic virtues as well. The good learner doesn't jump to conclusions and then refuse to relinquish them. They listen to other people and take their words in. They are patient. They desire to know the truth, rather than being wholly motivated by some other end, etc. But if the Good isn't obvious, then the good person needs to be a good learner. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Not sure how you can say it is hardly a problem. We fail to agree over the fundamental building blocks of civilization itself, forget the flat Earth or vaccine debates - they are symptoms of a bigger issue, aren't they? In increasingly diverse and polarized societies, if there is no shared mainstream narrative, chaos or internecine tribalism would seem to be a consequence. Is it any wonder that some people are calling for a return to religion or Christian values as a kind of nostalgia project, harking back to a perceived golden era? — Tom Storm
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