In reply to a recent paragraph of mine: <<<< What has this to do with Futurework specifically? Let us confine ourselves to education. Until we free the education system from state control then we shall never have skill-training which more accurately parallels the changing trends in the job market. Thankfully, there are signs that the state system is breaking down. An intermediate step would be the institution of education vouchers paid for by the the state. >>>>
a FW subscriber has written the following: <<<< In a society that is increasingly pluralistic in its culture, the public (In CA the publicly administered) and compulsory education system is the only body that has any hope of obtaining a civil society. The removal of that compulsory system would result in the total preeminence of money as the one and only and final arbiter of all values: cultural, spiritual, material etc. >From what we know about the privately run money system, I would not want that to happen. >>>> Not at all. A freed-up education system would give more choice to parents and release them from the state of dependency which now pervades education. In the late 19th century the majority of parents in English cities, even if very poor, were paying for the education of their children. They were motivated; their children were motivated to learn, too. Attendance at school was in the high 90%, and the same for basic literacy and numeracy. Today, a considerable minority of parents, having had their responsibuility taken from them, couldn't care less about the quality of the education of their children. Consequently, about 25% of teenagers leaving school today are functionally illiterate and innumerate. <<<< The solution of the education system is that teachers more realistically reflect the cultural and civic values of the parents of the children they teach. Education is not only about training for economic viability. It is also for social cohesion. >>>> Your last sentence is partially correct. State education was brought in (initially in Germany, closely followed by many more) was brought in for "nation-state" cohesion reasons. It was specifically described as such by the Germans. As to your first sentence this is definitely incorrect in very many housing estates in England where substantial numbers of parents have almost no cultural and civic values whatsoever. They and the teachers in their local schools (the latter rarely living in the same area) have almost nothing in common. In fact, the "values" are so different that the number of physical and verbal assaults on teachers (about 60,000 last year) are growing from year to year. Keith Hudson ___________________________________________________________________ Keith Hudson, General Editor, Calus <http://www.calus.org> 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727; mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________________________________________
