08-11-2010, 04:22 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-11-2010, 04:33 PM by Questioner.)
I think everyone would agree that the purpose of education is to provide a transformational experience, which results in new thought processes and behavior on the part of the student.
The question is: Who benefits from the way the student turns out?
Our modern system of higher education has an evolution very well documented in history. It goes to the Prussian state's collapse when Napoleon's armies invaded.
The leading Prussian thinkers had to ask themselves, how the hell could this have happened when their state was as modern, their army as well trained and equipped as Napoleon's?
The answer they came up with was that what made the difference was a French attitude. The French loved Napoleon with a zealous devotion, seeing him as a personal representative of all their aspirations for themselves and for their country. This sense of devotion led the French people to contribute more diligently to the war effort, including following whatever Napoleon said, and overcame the lower level of morale present in the Prussian military and population.
The next challenge for Prussian military strategists was: how to get this level of devotion throughout the entire Prussian population, even when they had no charismatic leader like Napoleon who was already the focal point of national pride and personal aspirations?
And their answer was: brainwash everyone to have a fanatical sense of devotion to the glorious State as the focal point for all their hopes and dreams, for all their needs and goals. This way, when the State calls for sacrifices, including fighting to the death, the population and the army will willingly do whatever needs to be done... and no future Napoleon could ever screw over the Prussians.
Now there's a problem with this approach: adults can generally spot this kind of blatant brainwashing, if it's different than how they've lived and thought and felt about things their whole lives. The solution is simple: brainwash the youth before they have a chance to develop an identity apart from the State as ultimate Parent. To do this requires a mass public education system. If the State can held together for a few decades, during which the education system is in place to get every new generation indoctrinated, soon enough the State will then have all the devoted followers it needs no matter what military situation might occur.
And this is exactly what they did, and the very same premises were then recycled a few decades later in Britain, another few decades later in the U.S.
Google for "prussian napoleon public education" and you'll find plenty of information about this, including citations of the source documents in each nation's history.
So the primary purpose of the U.S. public education system is to get the U.S. population to be devoted and concerned citizens, consumers, and worker bees; while trusting that others will and must be entrusted to decide what ends, goals, plans, and systems need new cogs.
Therefore, the average American has ample devotion to the State, so if Napoleon ever invades us we won't lose a land war of massive battle lines sweeping across Europe, just because of how charming he is. The fact that this goal is irrelevant to the average American's life is something the average American has been well trained to never think about.
The question is: Who benefits from the way the student turns out?
Our modern system of higher education has an evolution very well documented in history. It goes to the Prussian state's collapse when Napoleon's armies invaded.
The leading Prussian thinkers had to ask themselves, how the hell could this have happened when their state was as modern, their army as well trained and equipped as Napoleon's?
The answer they came up with was that what made the difference was a French attitude. The French loved Napoleon with a zealous devotion, seeing him as a personal representative of all their aspirations for themselves and for their country. This sense of devotion led the French people to contribute more diligently to the war effort, including following whatever Napoleon said, and overcame the lower level of morale present in the Prussian military and population.
The next challenge for Prussian military strategists was: how to get this level of devotion throughout the entire Prussian population, even when they had no charismatic leader like Napoleon who was already the focal point of national pride and personal aspirations?
And their answer was: brainwash everyone to have a fanatical sense of devotion to the glorious State as the focal point for all their hopes and dreams, for all their needs and goals. This way, when the State calls for sacrifices, including fighting to the death, the population and the army will willingly do whatever needs to be done... and no future Napoleon could ever screw over the Prussians.
Now there's a problem with this approach: adults can generally spot this kind of blatant brainwashing, if it's different than how they've lived and thought and felt about things their whole lives. The solution is simple: brainwash the youth before they have a chance to develop an identity apart from the State as ultimate Parent. To do this requires a mass public education system. If the State can held together for a few decades, during which the education system is in place to get every new generation indoctrinated, soon enough the State will then have all the devoted followers it needs no matter what military situation might occur.
And this is exactly what they did, and the very same premises were then recycled a few decades later in Britain, another few decades later in the U.S.
Google for "prussian napoleon public education" and you'll find plenty of information about this, including citations of the source documents in each nation's history.
So the primary purpose of the U.S. public education system is to get the U.S. population to be devoted and concerned citizens, consumers, and worker bees; while trusting that others will and must be entrusted to decide what ends, goals, plans, and systems need new cogs.
Therefore, the average American has ample devotion to the State, so if Napoleon ever invades us we won't lose a land war of massive battle lines sweeping across Europe, just because of how charming he is. The fact that this goal is irrelevant to the average American's life is something the average American has been well trained to never think about.