Re: Re[2]: The school game

Darlene Sybert (c557506@SHOWME.MISSOURI.EDU)
Mon, 12 Aug 1996 22:28:10 -0500


On Mon, 12 Aug 1996, Steve Finley wrote:
>
> "Most American public schools are about the business of socializing
> people, not about learning. They are about sitting down, shutting up,
> and not making waves or asking questions."
>
> Does this strike anyone else as rather categorical? Does anyone want
> to question the truth of this statement?

Who can know about MOST of anything? I do know of American
school systems--individual ones--where this is NOT true.
But I only know personally about a few schools...If we are
talking about public Universities, then I know that part of
the curriculum for freshmen classes is teaching students to be
inquisitive...to remember that just because it's in print
doesn't make it true...etc. As far as sitting down is concerned,
most of them do that...Shutting up: hardly ever (as the saying goes).
Making waves is what they do best. Class time is usually
question time: instructor asking students or vice versa or
student's questioning each other.
I'm never too sure what people mean by "socializing students:"
sounds like rhetoric to me. :)
The statement may be true about MOST public schools, but how
would we ever know? How could it be measured? It's like
which color is there the most of in a package of m & m's?
You can count what's in your package but that doesn't tell you
anything about the other packages.

I could make just about as good an argument to back up the
statement, too...

Darlene
http://www.missouri.edu/~c557506/index.htl
University of Missouri at Columbia (English)
******************************************************************************
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
It's loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
-John Keats "Endymion"
******************************************************************************