It seems inevitable in the next 20 years, humanity, like some crazed adolescent will flip off the road and crash — drunk on ideology, speeding on religious zealotry, prejudice and ignorance — and the fact that the drivers will have been highly “educated” will have been of no help.
If somehow humanity survives, the next 20 years will bring about astonishing advances in technology and in scientific knowledge. The big hope for humanity is that the new generations coming up will be better than the generations of their forefathers and will have the capacity and the desire to use the enormous new opportunities presented to them to build a wonderful country and world. The accomplishment of this big hope will require a revolution in education that will result in a more complete development of human potential.
Our capitalist culture sees a fully developed human as someone who is financially successful, someone who can out compete others and win in the market place. The aim of our education system reflects this capitalist culture and the production of a few winners and many losers by the education system reflects this culture. In President Obama’s SOTU speech, for example, he said we need to “out educate” so we can “out compete” other nations. This narrow focus on competition underlies the entire educational system.
We need to be rescued from an educational system that is delivering the results we see today — where those who have bested the competition, those most successfully “educated,” are those who are driving us off the cliff. Our only hope is that the coming generations are more mature, more thoughtful, more aware, more politically active, more compassionate than the generation now in charge. Our hope is that coming generations will be full of thoughtful citizens and visionary leaders. Such should be the aim of our educational system. But our capitalist culture isn’t interested in producing a mature and thoughtful citizenry.
The hope for our democracy is that somehow a “democratic” culture can gain control of public education and transform the system to reflect democratic values and principals. It is the premise of the book I’m stewing about — “When Anna Is Nineteen: Public Education In Kettering, Ohio, In The Year 2030” — that in Kettering such a transformation actually occurs.
Mike, you have some interesting thoughts, especially that we don’t want to eliminate from education those things that make well rounded, well informed citizens. However, I don’t want a democratic society, but rather one ruled by law. The tyranny of the majority is still tyranny.
Rick you write, “I don’t want a democratic society, but rather one ruled by law.”
It sounds like you are making an either/or type of choice. But the point of a democratic society is that it should have a government of law, not of men. The best way to arrive at a society ruled by law is through democracy.
Yes, in a democracy, there can be a tyranny of the majority, but at least our constitution slows down crazy ideas by making the process of major constitutional change difficult to complete — like prohibiting all alcohol consumption. The alternative to a democratic society is a society with the potential of unlimited tyranny.
Democracy is feared — because people have an unreasonable fear of “socialism.” It is true, if we ever had a government of the people for the people, it would probably be some form of “socialism” because a big majority of citizens would benefit from a system structure where the average person would more equally benefit from the wealth potential of the nation. American democracy should find its own way to organize society that would avoid some of the problems associated with European type socialism, but we need a big improvement in the present system.
Lee Hamilton: “We are concerned because too many Americans lack a basic understanding of our democracy–our institutions, our representative democracy, our obligation to those who came before, and what each of us can and must do to preserve the blessings of liberty.”
How can the Kettering Foundation help address these concerns? When will Kettering Schools step up to the challenge? Why are Kettering’s Democrats so painfully ineffectual in this regard? (Do you really want Kettering’s Republicans to mobilize on this issue before Kettering’s Democrats opt to fulfill their civic obligations? That could be ugly!)
Mike, a little history here. Our founding fathers feared unfettered democracy, and this was LONG before Marx and Engels. Rule by majority is to be feared, whether by racists whites of the old south or Shiites today.
The rule of law means, among other things, that are simply some things that the majority cannot do.
You state, “American society should find its own way to organize society that would avoid some of the problems associated with associated with European type socialism, but we need a big improvement in the present system.” I assert that a government that organizes society is a totalitarian government. I like freedom.
Eric, I like your Lee Hamilton quote. It would be in the mission of the Kettering Foundation, as I understand it, to do research that would reveal in some compelling way the state of American democracy. The first step in addressing a problem is to first of all identify the problem. Democracy in America is in a deplorable, emaciated state but Americans seem to not notice. Someone should be sounding the alarm. The powers that be — Democractic and Republican — benefit from the current arrangement. 90% of U.S. House seats are considered “safe.” There is an unstated conspiracy to keep things the way they are.
Kettering has a school system that the ODE has proclaimed “Excellent with Distinction.” Why should Kettering Schools do anything differently? Those supposedly employed by the system are, in fact, those in charge of the system and they are not going to needlessly upset their comfort level. The only hope for needed change is via grassroots action. Supposedly education is still under local control, but since our democracy is so broken — even at the local level — education is controlled by the forces embedded in the present system. In order to move public education to a transformed state of quality and accomplishment, there must be an awakening of grassroots democracy, and an activated grassroots democracy would be centered on problem solving and focused on promoting the general good and would transcend the partisan divide.
Rick, Anarchy is not freedom. Anarchy results in the opposite of freedom. I think it is a sound principle that freedom is a result of structure, and that if you like freedom, you should create those structures that will empower freedom. This principle is true as applied to an individual and it is also true as applied to a society. If, as a democratic society, we are committed to the mission of “liberty and justice for all,” as we continually say, then we are obligated to create those structures that will permit and empower freedom and justice for every citizen. It seems to me our society has a long way to go to achieve our mission. The problem is, we operate as an oligarchy. We are ruled by the Party of Money. It would seem that, regardless of your misgivings, you would agree that the best chance to accomplish “liberty and justice” is via an effective democracy.
mission of the Kettering Foundation … reveal in some compelling way the state of American democracy.
David Letterman beat them to it. Besides, they are busy trying to fix the problems with American democracy. Is anyone in Kettering helping out? Are Kettering school board members (and potential members) all indifferent to the importance of Kettering schoolchildren benefiting from Kettering Foundation work?
Who endorses board candidates without ensuring their commitment to educating students in the principles of democracy and ethics? Could it be … unions? Isn’t that special!
Eric, help me understand your vision of how the Kettering School District could best benefit from a strong partnership with the Kettering Foundation. Has the Foundation developed a program of civic education that Kettering Schools might benefit from? As I said, I want to make another visit to the Foundation and see if I can get a better understanding of its work.
My point is that the transformation of Kettering Schools will require that somehow Kettering could become an awakened and engaged grassroots democracy. I am wondering in what ways the Kettering Foundation might be willing to help energize a “democracy movement” right here in our local community.
The premise of my book — “Public Education In Kettering, Ohio, In The Year 2030” — is that within 20 years Kettering will be getting many visitors every year who seek to emulate the transformation in Kettering public education. How to get to a great future is the question and the book will look backwards to explain how the Kettering community gained local control of its schools and how that local control was used to transform the structure of the system. Part of this scenario is to explain how the teachers’ union in Kettering showed leadership and promoted a long term vision of a system that empowers authentic teacher professionalism.
To quote Eric…”Who endorses board candidates without ensuring their commitment to educating students in the principles of democracy and ethics? Could it be … unions? Isn’t that special!”
Whatever good the unions did for American workers in the past, they have long since negated through completely self-serving, narrow-minded, business-killing practices. Unions stand firmly against progress, making industries more efficient, more competitive…because doing so will directly affect their coffers. Have you ever wondered why things like your plumbing has pretty much stayed the same as it was 100 years ago? Or why better-built, cheaper homes can be manufactured but you can’t put one in YOUR neighborhood? And why schools can’t be run on less money and still produce smart, sharp kids? UNIONS! The unions have fought many advances in technology and productivity because they are protecting the jobs of their union members. They are modern-day Luddites, and in my mind you will never be able to reform the Educational System (or any union-dominated business) until you get rid of these controlling, narrow-minded monopolies.
Has the Foundation developed a program of civic education that Kettering Schools might benefit from?
NIF in the Classroom:
“The National Issues Forums (NIF) is a good model for civic education. Their work with the power of public deliberation is designed to instill in the individual a long term commitment to the process. Deliberation techniques of the NIF in the classroom and in the community can provide the flexibility and energy necessary to prepare students to participate in an ongoing renewal of democracy, a renewal that goes far beyond the importance of voting.”
Kettering community gained local control of its schools … teachers’ union in Kettering showed leadership and promoted a long term vision of a system that empowers authentic teacher professionalism.
One step might be for teachers to confront the state and national misinformation campaigns waged on their behalf and funded with their dues. NIF might help teachers, parents, and taxpayers get on the same page.
This is out of print, and its replacement doesn’t fill the same niche.
“One excellent reference that has been prepared to assist with framing issues is titled, appropriately, Framing Issues for Public Deliberation: A Curriculum Guide for Workshops, Kettering Foundation, (2001). The steps delineated in a framing process will not surprise most adult education practitioners who have experience with community development and public forums:
* Identifying people’s concerns
* Grouping like concerns and perspectives
* Bringing the problem into focus
* Recognizing the tensions
* Outlining the benefits and drawbacks of each approach
* Listing the actions and trade-offs
* Testing the framework”