'Orwellian language' in schools turns pupils into 'customers', finds damning report

'Orwellian language' in schools turns pupils into 'customers', finds damning report

www.dailymail.co.uk

It notes: 'As the language of performance and management has advanced, so we have proportionately lost a language of education which recognises the intrinsic value of pursuing certain sorts of question ... of seeking understanding [and] of exploring through literature and the arts what it means to be human.'

(visit the link for the full news article)

Its best put as stated here "A generation ago, hands-on lessons were 'very much part of the learning experience at school', he said. But the introduction of the national curriculum in 1988 had hastened the 'demise' of practical learning."

You can throw as much money as you want into a school, but when you make changes this way, and even the teachers can see it and lose interest.. what of the students?

We do not need more "cogs in the machine", we need more free thinkers who are challenged and motivated by learning how and why the world is the way it is.

I would like to see a report like this conducted in the U.S., somehow I do not think the findings would be that much different.

Look forward to your opinions, after all we are talking about the education of the future leaders and changers of the world.

www.dailymail.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 9-6-2009 by TwiTcHomatic]

Indoctrination. They actually published a report on this? That is crazy.

I bet some people won't even take head to it. Crazy stuff.

So the question is what do you do?

you get back to what school is about which is learning, i know personally school isnt about business, so ill ask you a question what do you think school is about

I went through the public school system at the time (grad in '92) and shortly watched two children go through (US btw). It's no surprise to me, sadly. The problem isn't just a single one, and so devious as to appear engineered.

The only way to counter this is through direct parental intervention. But with a system encouraging us to chase debt, there's little time or patience. And what choice do we have there? Without a system of credit there would be little property ownership by anyone but those at the top of the pyramid.

The carrot is plastic.

We may not want more 'cogs', but they need more 'cogs'. Their system doesn't work without the toiling masses at the bottom of the pyramid propping them up.

One would think our leaders would focus on education rather than other social issues...but it really is to their benefit to keep us stupid and distracted.
I often think of Einstein and some of these other geniuses of our past. Would they have made it through our educational systems? I've heard they Einstein would have been deemed autistic and thrown in special ed courses.
In the US we are forced through general educational courses for K - 12...but what of those who have a passion for, or excel in a certain subject? They should be allowed to run with that and excel beyond levels seen in most schools.
When I was in 8th or 9th grade I scored a 98 in science and a 48 in math I still hate math but we were hardly ever taught science and I never got to learn much about it...what if they would have thrown me into advanced science courses at that age? The possibilities could have been endless!

Yes, some of these terms are very "human resource" derived, but are the concepts they represent all bad? For example:

'Dialogic teaching' (an emphasis on speaking and listening between teachers and pupils) and 'articulated progression' (allowing pupils options for their next step in the qualification system) were also singled out in the report for censure.

It seems to me that "dialogic teaching" is a good thing. Rather than monotonic lecturing, engaging the students to ask questions, answer and interact. The Socratic method. And "articulated progression" sounds like something that enables students to progress at their own pace, giving them voice in the learning process rather than having to follow a fixed schedule.

I have found the idea of "customers" and "services" to be quite useful, also. In business, even when there's not a money-changing relationship, it encourages a mindset of service and responsibility. A good thing - in a cooperative endeavor, it allows people to rely on you to handle your portion of tasks, which gives them a basis for doing better things more confidently.

I agree the 'mindset' of the language can be dehumanizing. That's bad. I think the phrase "human resources", for example, is horrible and even Orwellian. But how can we better label the concepts? I suppose like many things, it's the perspective of perception that colors gestalt opinion, rather that the underlying actuality.

Not only does school prepare us to submit to the trivialized, demeaning, dull, and unfulfilling jobs that dominate our economy to the present time, not only does it prepare us to be modern producers, it equally prepares us to be modern consumers. Consider Gatto's description:

Schools train individuals to respond as a mass. Boys and girls are drilled in being bored, frightened, envious, emotionally needy, generally incomplete. A successful mass production economy requires such a clientele. A small business, small farm economy like that of the Amish requires individual competence, thoughtfulness, compassion, and universal participation; our own requires a managed mass of leveled, spiritless, anxious, familyless, friendless, godless, and obedient people who believe the difference between "Cheers" and "Seinfeld" is worth arguing about.

The Pressure to Break Free

[edit on 10-6-2009 by pai mei]