Today, I want to talk about “Education” versus “Schooling.”
First, let me recap that we are all politicians by nature:
- No one may choose to be a politician because everyone’s natural condition of biophysics existence makes them one already.
- Through conscious state development after birth, the biophysics nature does neither prevent a human to remain as an immature kind of politician, nor does it force a human to become a mature politician.
- The maturity of our conscious state development is a result of other human animals helping us to learn courage and gain skill to be with others and the nonhuman surroundings, versus being dominated, exploited, and oppressed by other fearful human animals.
- The consequence of the mature conscious state politician is a culture of liberty and justice for all to survive and thrive peacefully. The consequence of the immature conscious state politician is a culture of violence from domination, exploitation, and oppression by unjustly distorting biophysics needs into “privileged rights” or “charity” for those that “get with the program” of the frightened dominators.
Now, let’s understand how these points above might change the thought, talk and action of the two kinds of politicians toward the “behavior problems” (Lionel Tiger & Robin Fox) in various culture roles.
IN GENERAL:
Understanding, naming, and framing issues as problems in terms of becoming fully human, and in a deliberative context about what are WE going to do, together with officials and knowledge field scholars.
Clearly discern whether nature is the cause of the problem, or whether the system of relating to each other, as the cause of the problem.
Continue to learn from the results of our actions, by posing them as a problem.
This means that all moms/dads/offspring/siblings, all teachers/ students/ classmates/administrators, all physicians/patients/clients/nurses, all clergy/ congregants, all employers/employees/board members/shareholders/customers, all elected/appointed/career officials, judges/police/attorneys, all activists, hermits, are politicians. All titles, all roles in a culture are created by politics.
Remember, the point of my blog is: We want to form a “Critical Mass of Critical Conscious Mature Politicians” to authentically put in practice “liberty and justice for all, to survive and thrive peacefully.”
IN SPECIFIC: LET’S APPLY THIS NOW TO “EDUCATION” vs. “SCHOOLING”
During family child rearing practices, as well as in youth groups, preschools, public schools (which I like to call state compulsory attendance facilities), camps, sports, acting, music, fine arts, and other organized groups for youth such as play-dates, Internet, and children’s other media encounters, we have to ask:
Is everyone involved a teacher-student and a student-teacher practicing education?
Are all the participant politicians as big as life using law to rule relations from a Critical conscious state by everyone?
Is everyone learning from each other how to be critical and creative with reality?
Is our thought, talk, and action a disposition toward knowledge that is technical, practical, and emancipation, to form a culture of liberty and justice for all to survive and thrive peacefully, together? (Juergen Habermas)
The opposite scenario – which we want to overcome – is:
Everyone involved is only an instructor or a student practicing schooling.
All are either instructors or students, limited to be only as big as their knowledge field.
All use law to rule relations from a Naïve or Fanatic conscious state, to bring students into a logic of sectarian knowledge, so their thought, talk, and action will “get with The Program.”
“The Program” is merely technical or practical, but with no discussion of emancipation, let alone its application.
“The Program” forms a culture of domination, exploitation, and oppression violence by creating privilege and “charity” for a few.
Thank you for reading, and thinking about this.
I look forward to your comments.
Bob Walker