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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gary Mohilner who wrote (308669)

8/23/2016 12:06:47 PM

From: koan

Respond to of 543041

I basically agree with that, but I am really trying to make a different point.

We have a culture that sets up a false dichotomy i.e. college or no college. What I am talking about is developing whatever type of mind a person has, as we are born animals and develop existential minds. Develop is the operative word. Minds are developed and to what extent depends on the family and society. When the family cannot educate the child, for whatever reason, then society should step in, IMO.

We need, as you allude to, a flexible educational system that helps people develop all sorts of skills, both physical and mental. Everyone can learn. A flat worm can learn. And everyone can benefit from education. And I agree, some people are better at math and some are better at languages. Some like to work with their hands and some their minds. And none is a determiner of intellectual capability, whatever that is. We have no idea yet. Robert Ornstein the great experimental psychologist says we have many minds. So we have to educate our many minds.

Most people that don't get a good intellectual education, fail because they were born in the wrong economic environment. Clinton's kid went to Stanford, Obama's to Harvard and even incurious Bush went to Yale. It is very unlikely any of them would have even gone to college if they had been born in a ghetto or barrio to poor parents.

I don't think our society understands what the real capabilities of the human mind are or how to effect optimum functioning. Or the benefit to society of doing so.

I certainly agree that funding education at all levels is warranted. What I believe needs to change is a one size fits all attitude toward college. Not every student should be treated like all that's needed is graduates in the sciences, engineering, etc. We still need all sorts of people who prefer to working with their hands as much as their minds, and we need to nurture that as well.

Today our schools have largely closed their shops, or if they have them, they're available in the evenings as adult education. I know of students who never thought math was important till they got into wood shop and saw they needed it to build something. Our shops may need upgrading to the point that students learn about N/C machines, as well as manually operated ones, but I believe that if you learn how to operate the manual ones, figuring out how to do it with an N/C machine won't be that difficult.

I know much production is still done on manual machines, or older N/C machines as the owners of smaller shops can't afford the new N/C machines and what they have are largely purchased used. The likes of the plumbers, carpenters, electricians, etc. who build and repair our homes, offices, etc. almost entirely use tools that aren't N/C. My point is that these are all skills that used to be taught in Jr. High and High Schools that are still sorely needed, and profitable for those who are competent, it's not that they're not taught, it's that they aren't taught until after you graduate high school.

We need to help our students discover what they're interested in rather than dictating that they must take a prescribed number of courses, and to graduate, all must pass an algebra test. Some people simply just don't understand math, but they might be fantastic in other areas. What are the odds of someone who's deaf composing great music, ask Beethoven. I don't believe today's schools can give you the likes of Beethoven.

Gary