RE: A Cascade of Education.
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Education is always the salvation. There's a lot of negativity around education systems as they currently stand, but of course education empowers. There's so much research into how education can give people autonomy over their lives, more choices, more resources, more means to make a better life for themselves.
As long as the parents do their part and instill values in their children that promote learning and improvement.
Having spent years as an educator myself, this is often the issue - having a negative view of teachers and schools, and not making a distinction between then and now, or teaching the child to be curious and value education despite the things they may not like about it - has such a big influence on students. I have so little respect for hte parents who come in and say in front of their child: 'oh I hated school' or 'you'll never need to know that in real life' or 'no wonder you're bad at that, I never was' - set such poor examples for their child and limit their ability to get ahead through education. Of course, no one has to have a university education, but a solid foundation provides such benefits to life and can't be ignored.
Even if it's the ability to dissassemble the bullshit we're fed via governments and media. To think critically.
Here in Australia people look down on Aboriginal people as if they're not good enough and that they could have been more successful if they'd just tried. They don't begin to understand that education hasn't been top of the list for people who've had so many human rights removed from them in the last 200 years, and that this kind of wealth - like health - is inherited. They will argue that they get more 'handouts' than 'white' Australia without rationalising that they've had proportionately less over time, and that funding education is attempting to redress the balance, to give people back their autonomy. I'm sure it's similiar in all kinds of countries with all kinds of people. This is just one example.
And yes, we can be cynical too and look at what areas of education are defunded. For example, the removal of funding for the arts and students having to foot the bill for an Arts degree when science students are subsidised. Of course, Arts students are more likely to critique those in power.
I could go on and am probably rambling. It's a day for it - raining here. I'm glad your daughter is in a school where she gets the focus and attention she deserves. There was nothing that made me more irate than a pedagogical 'guru' who said class size didn't matter - of course it does. Even if it matters only to the teacher marking the essays and preparing the work and feeding the passions of their charges - this has a trickle down affect too!
Great article.
Wow, thank you for that long comment! Always love it when people take the time to give an extended opinion - it's mostly not rambling to me.
The empowering part is very important, but as many second-layer effects of education overlooked way too many times. The second or third generation of educated members of a family might see it, but the first usually doesn't. It's the promise of a better job and money that brings people into what they think is education, but is just a paper mill, at least here. You need a university title to be worth something. It doesn't matter if you're actually skilled for that, or if your talents lie in a trade craft, everyone wants to go to university just because.
Also, trade crafts don't have schools here, most of them at least. You learn by doing, taught my someone who learned the same way. But it's mostly bad quality. The stories I could tell... A trade craft school would be amazing here, though without any teachers.
The inheritance part is important, the interviews I listened to are an example of that. The family is so incredibly important on all fronts, but since we're in a downwards spiral of values at the moment, it's getting harder and harder to reverse that. Just motivational speeches won't do the trick, hence throwing money at the problem just might.
The funding is how the system wants people to be. Arts and cultural studies don't have much direct economic impact, they "just" educate people and make them have nasty emotions and thoughts.
@topcomment please curate the comment above, if you find it as well written as I!
In Australia we used to have tech schools, which were focused on things like woodwork, metalwork etc that led to trades. Unfortunately they shut those down in favour of putting everyone on same path. But education isn't cookie cutter.
People do need motivated, knowledgeable and passionate teachers teachers to motivate them to step into lifelong journeys of curiosity and self improvement and sadly, yep, you need money for that.
You've gained a new follower with this post.
My grandfather always told me to learn a trade first, and then study, though I was quite good in regular schooling. My plan was to become a carpenter and then travel South America working. I'm glad I didn't, there's little regard for crafts or quality here, and even less payment. I might've starved :-D
The cookie cutter is a good example. There's little regard for any talents at all. That's why I'm so happy with Lily's Waldorf school. They're a little over the top from time to time, giving the kids a little too much space and not enough structure, but that's minor in comparison to what regular school is like here.
And you gained a follower, too, after checking out your blog. Looking forward to reading more!
What a shame there's no regard for crafts. I guess everything has to mature. I know there's a big resurgence in the valuing of good craft here - I mean anyone in the building trade earns more than teachers but building or making custom, bespoke furniture or beautiful hand crafted things does alright too. The 'slow' movement has a market!
It's a market of contemplation that has real value. Though most people might just want to show it off. And yes, I'm cynical about that all. But I love to pay for good work. I have one carpenter who's quite the genius. Around 20% more expensive than others, but he gets the right wood, the right quality, and me. He gets me. Which is hard. And he always comes back to make sure everything is perfect, and even the smallest thing that wasn't quite perfect - he'll be on my doorstep the next day to fix it.
It's a thing of community as well. One has to get to know those who are eligible for community, and those who aren't. He'd be my community carpenter. I know who to call for solid structure work. Who for arts. Who for white line. Who for the garden. But that takes time, to build that community. Many people move around too quickly, or never overcome the fragmentation that comes with the superficiality these days. Dang. I forgot to put the dill seeds in the ground.
Community means so much. Here there's a lot of young 'tradies' as we call them starting businesses and trying to male their way. They're better than the old guard - more polite, more willing, more keen. Happy to support them... EXCEPT every time we get a quote my husband ends up doing it himself 🤣
I've never been a fan of dill, and apart from potatoes or salmon, I'm not sure how to use it. It's the single herb I have no affinity with!
Well, potato and fish is about it. Cucumbers and pickles are in there, too, but besides that... I make a lot of dill pickles, so I always need a good amount. They're in the earth now, let's see if they sprout!
Okay I can definitely live with dill pickles! My Nana was German, so it's a little bit in my DNA... :P
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