I go to school. Whenever you question what teachers are telling you, or just simply asking "why?", they completely ignore you.

Welcome to the real world. Any Country in the World needs dumb people as its meek and submissive citizens who will believe whatever they are told especially by their Governments (not to mention the controlled media and propaganda).

But why? It's easier to rule. You can't tell the lies and mislead the conscious informed public capable of critical thinking.

[FONT=&quot]Closely related to the topic is: Aspartame, MSG, Dumbing Down Society (click me)
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The dumber the better.






The hordes of dumbed-down students who can't think for themselves are a perfect starting point. By the way I never let my schooling interfere with my education ,you better understand what it means unless you want to be sorry later in your life, as it turns I couldn't be brainwashed and still can think on my own.



I suggest reading the Dumbing Us Down by JohnTaylor Gatto.

Here is a short review:
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In a powerful language, Gatto confesses that he has done an excellent job in fulfilling the school mandate teaching kids indifference, passivity, shattering their self-esteem, cruelty, etc. through the system of bells, grades, constant evaluation and various forms of coercion and punishment that ensure conformity and downright stupidity.

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Also about the dumbing-down :


Don’t get in the way of important people by doing too much thinking…there are people guiding your life and you don't even know it! Scary video. It mentions the Religions in a suspicious way which I strongly and utterly disagree with but the rest of the video is OK.


[FONT=&quot][ame='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNElWkYrdLs']Dumbing Down America Mass Media Programming (click me)[/ame][/FONT]
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If you don't decide what you want in this life and what the truth is, then [B]other people will decide it for you..[/B]


Amen!

What was I watching.... Zeitgeist, I believe it was?
And the dumbing down of schools is already known, and according to conspiracy theorists, will allow for a new generation of people who lack critical thought, which is pretty much essential for any social action.

Also, what poster above me said. The government needs submissive people in order to fill whatever agendas they have.

That's why we all learn everything we need to know from Wikipedia.

I think every country has an education system that revolves around giving biased and one-sided facts. While I'm not sure what the US education system is like, I can only tell from my perspective.

When we learn about South African history, for example, we learn how the African National Congress fought against Apartheid. While it's all great, I've noticed how they skip on one or two details, especially how the ANC has been responsible for the deaths of innocent people. While I can understand the reasons behind the killings -- it was a struggle for human rights, after all -- I just find it irritating that the education system makes the ANC appear squeaky clean and that they can do no wrong (even though our president was accused on rape and has 24 children that he supports through our taxes :nono:).
Also, most books we read in English class have become worse and worse. Years ago people used to read books like Catcher in the Rye and The Jungle Book (the original). Now we're reading The Kite Runner. While a good book, the punctuation and fragmentation in the book is so bad it could make a bunny cry.

So in a way, I agree more or less the government is purposefully trying to make their people stupid. However, I think one's education is one's responsibility. You can't take whatever you learn in class at face value. You need to do your own research and see two sides of the story.

Couldn't disagree less. You guys be some paranoid bitches, the funny thing is the government does also need doctors and scientists and engineers. You need to stop watching V for Vendetta and get in the real world, if kids are getting more retarded, then it's not up to the school to make them geniuses overnight, it's up to the child whether they are receptive and actually want to learn.

lol. who really gives a shit about school

I'm not being paranoid. I can just tell that's what governments do; I know my government does.



So? Doctors and engineers are not immune to stupidity. You said so yourself and Facebook: "Knowledge is often mistaken for intelligence. This is like mistaking a cup of milk for a cow."
Being knowledgeable does not make you intelligent. I've met some really retarded doctors and an engineer who thought he's so intelligent, yet he's the one of the most biased and illogical buffoons I've ever met.



But schools exist for that purpose. Schools are supposed to teach you. A child rarely understands why they are at school; they just know their parents force them to. It's only when they are nearing adulthood (though some still can't grasp it) do they understand the purpose of school and education. However, that's also a problem. People need to explain to kids the importance of school, instead of just saying "Go to school!"

Just saying "TEH GOVERNMENT DID IT!" Isn't solving anything. And your insinuating that school should even teach wisdom, or even could. That stuff only comes from life experience, learning not to be a irresponsible dick head is up to the person. That's not the government's responsibility at all, it's the society and culture of it's people. Perhaps parents should be there to empart their almighty life knowledge and enlighten their kids?

That's even worse. Even though we learn a lot from our parents, they may not be the most credible source of information. They too can have biased and one-sided opinions. After all, isn't our parents the ones who taught us to believe in Father Christmas/Santa Clause in the first place?

There's yo problem :rob:

Tombgeek wrote:

That's even worse. Even though we learn a lot from our parents, they may not be the most credible source of information. They too can have biased and one-sided opinions. After all, isn't our parents the ones who taught us to believe in Father Christmas/Santa Clause in the first place?

God forbid the government were to put us in the care of these conservative monsters until we turned 18.

I'm just saying that school is vital regardless. I'm not a huge fan of school either, but I value information and education. I believe it's vital. However, schools should be promoting open-mindedness and free-thought, which, unfortunately, is not the case in most schools. Teachers should be prepared to explain why something is so, not just dismiss it as something you have to learn to get marks. Schools (and parents) should encourage people to read and research things out of pure curiosity.

...But you can't force someone to be open minded. Nor can the government, and because the government isn't forcing it's children to be something they're not they are accused of being manipulative for some dark motive.

I'm all for philosophy and not being a jerk being taught in schools. But you can't force the schools to teach something that isn't actually necessary in earning a career. However, I find, in many English schools they teach this stuff al the time. My Sex .Ed's, talk about sexuality and about being gay. R.E Is enforced until yr 8, to teach kids about other faiths than just Christianity. Every week we have an assembly that usually has some message about acceptance and being nice. Which is a good thing, unnecessary, but nice. I would like all the other schools to do the same, but to say that the government is masterminding the whole thing to control the general public is insane.

Head Start Program - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

No Child Left Behind Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Head start... left behind. Someone's losing fuckn' ground here!"
- George Carlin

I didn't watch the entire video, but I disagree with the main idea of the thread. The education system isn't perfect, but this too conspiracy-theory-ish for me (although maybe it depends on the government).

The government is important, but there are many other levels to education as well - local school boards, the teachers and other faculty, the parents, the student, etc. Everyone has a responsibility.

And remember that the government can tell teachers what to teach but not so much how to teach. The government can provide learning resources and set goals, but they can't teach (or not teach) critical thinking themselves - that's the teacher's job. The curriculum is the same across our province but I can assure you I received a much different education than other kids from different towns.

For the record, here's an excerpt from the language arts curriculum:

Practise the behaviours of effective, strategic readers

• respond personally, critically, and creatively
  
• recognize major literary forms and techniques
  
• assess how content and organization are influenced by the writer’s choice of literary form
  
• evaluate the accuracy and usefulness of information presented
  
• identify the effect created by the author’s “voice”, tone, and style, and examine the methods by which they are achieved
  
• evaluate the extent to which a specific piece of writing achieves its purpose
  
• appreciate the way in which a writer’s form and ideas are shaped into an artistic unit
  

Read a variety of texts for a variety of purposes

• relate literary experience to personal experience and extend personal response
  
• explore human experiences and values reflected in texts
  
• broaden knowledge of cultural heritage
  
• understand the ideas, values, and cultures of peoples past and present
  
• read to stimulate imagination
  
• read a wide range of material to extend experience
  
• make and defend an informed critical response
  
• compare, contrast, and evaluate texts
  

schools are a big fucking waste of time
you never use nothing you get teached

who really needs more math than basic shit plus calculators do it all
history is boring and who cares what happened back then
science is pointless unless your a nerd
english we learn when we learn how to talk and as we use it

Clearly.