I agree with Diane that the question of what are schools for and what is
education for are very important questions and should be answered before
public/private schools.
On the side of history, I think we should be a bit more critical about
celebrating compulsory mass education and eliminating illiteracy. I was
lucky enough to be raised (in part) by my print-illiterate grandma to
appreciate oral literacy (that I and generations after me are robbed from).
Greek poet Homer was not able to read and write. I think it is not
overgeneralization that mass print literacy killed mass oral literacy to
very high extend. IMF schools are (deliberately) responsible for destroying
many traditional societies. Also schooled print literacy is a very peculiar
as we know...
I do not believe that current schools (both public and private) are THE
pathways to our society. But under current policies, it is very difficult
to try anything else. However, current schools establish very good
discipline regime of reproduction. David Tyack and Larry Cuban (1995, p.
85) point out, "The basic grammar of schooling... has remained remarkably
stable over the decades." Majority schools (both public and private) are
nothing more than prison of minimum security for kids (although it is
getting more security every year specially for urban schools). Viva
schools -- no more child labor but ass abuse! Cynically speaking we should
combine together money for schools and for prisons in one budget.
What do you think?
Eugene
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diane HODGES [mailto:dchodges@interchange.ubc.ca]
> Sent: Thursday, May 13, 1999 11:48 PM
> To: xmca who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu
> Subject: Re: Campaign Against Public Schools
>
>
> At 8:04 5/14/99, MDLedoux who-is-at aol.com wrote:
> >
> >If we are attempting to strengthen school culture and build upon
> the cultural
> >strengths of individuals, shouldn't there be support of attempts
> at schooling
> >that enhances these areas of learning?
> >
>
> what i am not hearing in this discussion are notions of
> epistemology or the cultivation of critical social conscience or
> any kind of "what is education for?" ideas beyond the
>
> acceptance of "school" as cultural - and "school" is certainly
> the problematic manifestation of "education" - so what
>
> are other cultural manifestations of education and its relations
> to knowledge and conscience? that is, if the issue is about "schools" as
> failed institutions, then private/public domains are not
>
> the issue; but rather what is education for? is the question, isn't it?
> diane
>
> """"""""""""""""""""""" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> When she walks,
> the revolution's coming.
> In her hips, there's revolution.
> When she talks, I hear revolution.
> In her kiss, I taste the revolution.
> (poem by Kathleen Hanna: Riot Grrl)
> ******************************************
> diane celia hodges
> university of british columbia
> centre for the study of curriculum and knowledge
> vancouver, british columbia, canada
>