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Books : Dumbing us down

Dumbing us down

Achieving maximum learning requires freedom. The author states learning is maximized by taking on a 1000 internships, active participation in the community, and periods of isolated reflection. The principles of democracy are essential in education. A broad range of freedom needs to given to the student to explore ideas. Internship implies sharing information and knowledge with a potential employee, aimed at increasing their professional capability, before employment. Learning is increased as knowledge is put into action. Servicing and learning are tightly integrated and provide purpose to the learning. Service is the key to creating a connectedness with the community. Periods of isolated reflection allow the student to meditate on the principles and information they have learned. Abstraction, synthesis, and integration mental process allow the information to evolve into other ideas or principles. Think of the sculpture of the thinking man, deeply focused in thought, reflecting and studying what he knew, sitting on a rock in isolation. The author makes the follow observations. 1. Schools are networks not communities. 2. Our kids are taught to anonymous 3. Its better to lie or partial lie to avoid being caught 4. Telling the truth or reporting wrong doings is wrong 5. Schools claim social engineering values such as providing a better environment for the poor. Social advantages such as: food, shelter, medical, and recreation 5. The education system values: competition, intimidation, and control more than principles of democracy. 6. Students are taught "more is better." More money creates more happiness. 7. Kids are taught to network, making contacts with individuals in the network, and keeping information exclusive. 8. Many of the social problems of teen pregancy, drugs, and violence are associated with the rich rather than the poor. 9. The system often mis-diagnose the smart kids as dumb. Time in the class is often filled with tests and verbal reading.

The sad truth is school values translate into individual values. If your child thinks its ok, to spend hours down in their room listening to their music, refusing to eat at the dinner table, or participate in family activities, you start to wonder. If your child spend countless hours in homework and very little time interacting with the family, you wonder. If your child is brilliant and you watch her struggle with grades, you wonder. If your child was previously curious about things and often worked on individual projects and research but suddenly stop, you wonder. If you go for periods of time without noticing your child, you wonder. We are becoming a society of individuals, networked, without identity, and without value to the community. This is very distrubing.

Discontent is good. Discontent creates change. Change is healthy. The machinery of public education needs reinvention. This book is helpful step in helping people to think about 1. why change is necessary 2. why more parential involvement with the childrens education is needed 3. and why the current education system has fail us.

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