"Very few people who are not involved with inner-city schools have any real idea of the extremes to which the mercantile distortion of the purposes and character of education have been taken or how unabashedly proponents of these practices are willing to defend them. The head of a Chicago school, for instance, who was criticized by some for emphasizing rote instruction that, his critics said, was turning children into "robots," found no reason to dispute the charge. "Did you ever stop to think that these robots will never burglarize your home?" he asked, and "will never snatch your pocketbooks....... These robots are going to be producing taxes."
Taken from Still Separate, still Unequal America's Educational Apartheid by Jonathan Kozol Harper's Magazine September 2005
8 comments:
An interesting perspective....I'll have to ponder that one some more though.
Deep.
Leave it to you to make us all go, Hmmmmmmmm......
I mean that in a good way!
Smooches
It's interesting.
We are in denial here in Toronto about the dumbing down of curriculums in certain neighbourhoods in this city.
It happens.
We just like to pretend that we are better at educating our poor. But, we're not.
A diploma from certain high schools in the GTA mean practically nothing, while a diploma from other high schools get you into Upper Canada College and U of T.
I've seen it, and it's only going to get worse if more programs aren't set up to help students cope and learn to learn.
Hmmm, I don't even know what he said. Could he say it plain basic english for the simple minded like me?
Some people learn by rote. others learn by seeing, others by doing. If "programming" kids helps them to learn, then fuck it I'm all for it.
This world would be more safe, but hella boring. Tax paying robots, how republican.
Rote still better than none,right?
@scratchie - ok
@sunshine - lol
@bajanqueen - lol
@danyel - thanks
@radmila - I agree with you, its all going to hell in a handbag and then we wonder why the youth are bad
@brother buck - lol
@xquizzyt1 - but i think the ppoint you are missing or maybe i didnt add enough of the article is that this rote system isnt working, its turning kids off from learning then they drop out of school and turn to all sorts of evils
@mizpink - lol
@abeni - is it?
@4panist - figure it out my yout figure it out
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