I'm halfway through 'Underground History'. It's a fascinating perspective. The very structure of schools -- to a great extent, regardless of actual content -- has acclimated us to the insidious expansion of fascism and top-down, centralized power. Where once a few years of schooling prepared people for a lifetime of independent thought and independent livelihoods, kids today in the better schools are prepped to be serfs-in-suits with laptops and powerpoint presentations, and in the inferior schools to be numbed enough and dumbed down enough to accept burger-flipping jobs at McD's or Walmart greeters.
The quotes in that book from the early developers of the 20th century school system are remarkable: The goal of school is to 'instill a sense of subservience in the young'. Children should be 'cut to fit'.
Best of all, the obvious-but-never-noticed concept that "public schools aren't 'public' in the sense that libraries are 'public' or roads are 'public'". I always wondered why there wasn't more freedom to speed ahead in various subjects to advanced grades if one was capable. If school were an all-you-can-eat smorgasboard, and one was free to choose what one wanted to study, rather than be forced to fit the mold, the products of the school system would be too unpredictable, too nonstandard, and possibly too bold to fit into the pre-cast niches in the beehive.
I just read his description of what Humboldt had envisioned and fought for in education in Prussia:
For a brief, hopeful moment, Humboldt’s brilliant arguments for a high-level no-holds-barred, free-swinging, universal, intellectual course of study for all, full of variety, free debate, rich experience, and personalized curricula almost won the day. What a different world we would have today if Humboldt had won the Prussian debate, but the forces backing Baron vom Stein won instead. And that has made all the difference.
The Prussian mind, which carried the day, held a clear idea of what centralized schooling should deliver: 1) Obedient soldiers to the army;2 2) Obedient workers for mines, factories, and farms; 3) Well-subordinated civil servants, trained in their function; 4) Well-subordinated clerks for industry; 5) Citizens who thought alike on most issues; 6) National uniformity in thought, word, and deed.
NCLB is a culmination, but between the mega-media and the copycat schools systems nationwide, the Prussian model has been well on its way in America for more than 50 years.
Let freedom ring.
