The problem with the education system

The problem with the education system

Too little, too late?

The redesign of the school curriculum this fall is all dazzle, and no real content. Yes, it's nice to be able to show parents their children are enjoying themselves with new activities, but the substance inevitably still falls short of a true education.

So many in the past few generations have been failed by schooling. Historically there was vigorous attention to teaching the basics. The instruction of language has been modernized and changed so much, it's a wonder anyone can express a complex thought either verbally or written. The value of a proper understanding in the rules of a language should come before anything else. Learning the rules of grammar, then practice in recognizing mistakes in those rules, are the basis of a complete classical education.

Currently we have the 'common core' education curriculum across America and as well ensconced here in Canada, a system that tends to dumb down the students. But you will say the schools have to be this way since it's the best way we have to teach the children. A system which has failed at least the last two, and perhaps even five generations.

Now the current education system is based on the Prussian Education System, which was designed to instill absolute obedience and uniformity in the pupils under the guise of education. It also forces all students to learn the same way, by being lectured, and tested. It rewards compliance and following orders, and punishes any questioning the instructor, and squelches independent thought.

It has come to the point when an astute student who acts out in class (through boredom and lack of interest) will have their mind impaired by pharmaceuticals (Ritalin or other nervous system stimulants), to enable them to fit their round mind in the square hole of the education system. These drugs dull the mind, and force conformation on someone who thinks differently.

This schooling system churns out graduates who are not prepared for the real world. An 18-year-old leaving school and entering the the work force barely has an idea what they want to do, let alone the knowledge to strike out on their own to tackle the wild world around them. Many have no idea how to do anything but menial labor, such as working at fast food restaurants, or retail without further costly training.

The few that can afford to begin higher education are encouraged to choose a field of study, without much chance to see if it's something they'd like to do. In doing so, many are plunged into a life they don't enjoy, wishing they'd chosen differently. Many who go believe going to college or university will better their lives, end up in debt, with little hope of paying the debt down. Looking for work with a load of debt forces many into employment that is outside their field of study, and for lower wages than that which will support their dreams.

Those who do not go into debt in the quest for higher education, but instead learn a trade, are usually in a better position both financially and employability.

How did this all come about? We have to begin back when many of our great grandparents were in school. During the 19th century, many students were taught in small local schools. These one room classes had students of varying ages, but all were taught by someone who had to understand the curriculum. For instance, in one example from 1912, students are asked various questions that would stump most of today's graduates.

A few questions follow from Grammar, Geography and Physiology.

"William struck James." Change the Voice of the verb.

Tell what you know of the Gulf Stream.

How does the liver compare in size with other glands in the human body? Where is it located? What does it secrete.

Many adults without advanced education would be hard pressed to answer these without reviewing the subjects.

How could small rural communities of a century ago find someone so well educated to teach their children? Most scholars with higher learning were taught a classical liberal education.

Today the few who learn this are usually attending exclusive colleges. Most other colleges and universities do not include this in the curriculum.

So what is the basics of a classical liberal education? They are the Trivium and the Quadrivium.

The Trivium (meaning the three roads) is based on knowledge of Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric.

It teaches a theory of education, which organizes learning around the maturing capacity of the child's mind. It no longer exists in public education.

Grammar is the study of language. The study of the rules the language is composed of, and how to recognize when those rules are not being followed.

Logic is the study of reasoning, or the study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration. This is how you can logically deduce whether something is true or not, based on clues and reasoning. It helps you distinguish good reasoning from bad reasoning.

Rhetoric is the study of effective speaking and writing. The art of persuasion is how we can express our thoughts in a form that others can understand.

A classical education could have more benefits as well.

In an instance where a young lady who was home-schooled by her mother in the Trivium system, was able to test out over 30 hours worth of college in the start of her advanced education.

The daughter, Susan Wise Bauer, and her mother, Jessie Wise wrote a book about their experience being educated in the Trivium method. In they book they lay out a course in how a home school parent could find resources to teach their own child.

Staying at home to learn an education had even more benefits than public education. Susan was able to learn more than being stuck in a lecture-hall could ever have provided. She spent time playing and learning, going to museums, parks and sporting events. She spent many hours with her mother learning about the world around her. These experiences broadened her world view, and prepared her well for the future.

When she attended college, she was even called upon to tutor her peers as her education was so complete compared to theirs.

The book they wrote is called 'The Well Trained Mind - A Guide to Classical Education at Home.' ISBN 0-393-04752-0

They also have a companion website with quite a bit of reference material available. That site is at http://welltrainedmind.com

It, and many other books, websites and resources are available for the parent who wants to do more for their child.

There are many other good sites based on this system. A few are as follows.

http://www.triviumeducation.com/

https://www.classicalconversations.com/trivium-education.htm

One of the few public colleges still teaching the classical education system is the College of William and Mary in Virginia, chartered in 1693. They consider themselves a "Public Ivy", as opposed to the more private Ivy League schools. Their website is at: http://www.wm.edu

What is their version of Trivium Education?

The three parts of the Trivium system can be broken down into stages.

Grammar is to be taught for the first four years. Logic will then be taught for the next four. By the time that is learned, the pupil will be ready for the next four years for Rhetoric. With Rhetoric they'll be able to cogitate, ruminate and then express themselves eloquently.

In one Trivium home school course, the three are taught in shorter spans, with the basics of Grammar taught along with Logic and Rhetoric, but in ever increasing levels of difficulty. Every four years the courses repeat themselves, but with more advanced skill levels.

By the time a student reaches the twelfth year of study, they have the first half of their classical education.

The second part of the system is the Quadrivium. Those subjects were taught at institutes of higher learning.

The Quadrivium is composed of four parts.

Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy.

Arithmetic is: Number in itself, which is a pure abstraction; that is, outside of space and time.

Geometry is: Number in space.

Music (or Harmonic Theory) is: Number in time.

Astronomy is: Number in space and time.

Now this is not to say aspects of those four cannot be introduced much earlier in the education of a child. Like all trades and skills, children can be exposed to many experiences and fields of study well before they reach an age where they'll have to make a decision toward their future.

Even if you have to leave your child in school because you have to work, you should supplement their education with this method. The benefits to both the child and adult can not be emphasized enough. Many adults, from my personal observation, are lacking in basic grammar, logic and rhetoric skills.

So now you say that your child needs peers to develop socially. I'll quote from "The Well Trained Mind" ... many parents ask, "What about my child's social development? Doesn't he need peers?" Children need friends. Children do not need to be surrounded by large groups of peers who inevitably follow the strongest personality in the crowd. the question for any parent is: Do I want my child to be like his peers? Or do I want my child to rise above them.?

So, how did the system get broken?

It was while I was doing personal research on the education system that I stumbled upon an informative tome. The book The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America is written by Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt, a former employee of the Department of Education under Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s. It was while she was employed by the government that she came across some disturbing evidence showing the system was deliberately under-educating most of the students being taught in America.

In the book, published in 1999, she follows a chronological trail of evidence showing how the system was intentionally broken.

You can download her non-abridge book for free on her website: http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/

http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/MomsPDFs/DDDoA.sml.pdf

Also on the website are links to her Youtube page, on which she has videos about how this came about.

An informative one to watch is "History... Connected: The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America w/ Charlotte Iserbyt"

https://youtu.be/69HqxE74P5w

The evidence seems clear. The reason we have a society whose greatest ambition is to sit on the couch after work and watch their favorite programming, is because it's the way the powers that be want us to be.

They don't want people who are intelligent enough to question what is happening to them. They don't want independent thinkers. They don't want people with a passion for a cause to be able to express their thoughts to others. They want quiet, complacent workers for their factories. They want workers who are so desperate to make money they'll do almost any menial job to get it.

They don't want someone who can solve problems. They don't want someone who can work for themselves. They'd rather have a population to control and utilize. They train people for one job, creating a society of monomaths. They have a niche for everybody, and those who don't fit, get left out. It's why there's so much homelessness in the world. There are people who have trained all their lives for one job, and when that job disappears, they're left with nothing.

I'd like to see the current school curriculum phased out, and strong emphasis put on training in this type of system. If that does not occur, I'd suggest every parent take the step to augment their child's education themselves. The cost is minimal compared to the benefits.

If the government is truly interested in an educated populace, they should apply their resources to this.

Each First Nation government should seriously look into this too. They're in just as much trouble with the state of the education system as the rest of the country. I'd even say they're in more of a dire need to find better ways to connect with their youth, especially with the systemic loss of their culture over the last century.

The governments should support any parents who wish to home school their child in the Trivium, both in resources, and training.

The future of the world is at stake, and every day we spend with the current education system is a day wasted.

I could add much more to this, but I'm getting tired thinking about it so I'll leave the rest to you.

I'd like to think we Yukoners can step up to the challenge. Maybe some day we can look back and say the revolution started here.

Paul Getson

Whitehorse, Yukon