NOTE: My intention for this blog was not to be highly political. However I believe this article provides background to the idea that schooling is suffering and needs to change to meet the needs of the changing world.
On Facebook, today, I read The Demise of the Nation State, published by The Guardian. I had recently come to a personal acceptance that the populist or nationalistic state of our current country is in sync with the state of many other countries and felt very alarmed. This article was long, and mentally taxing at times, but it woke me up to how I accept nation states as a way of life, a way of being. Contemplating the idea that nation states have a lifetime, that death may be part of their journey was alarming. However, this article’s claims seem plausible.
If one studies the history of education, one learns quickly that the purpose of most schools has been indoctrination: mainly of ‘country values’ (political), economic needs, or religious ideas. If nation states are failing, then educational institutions, tasked with creating citizens for that nation state, will become obsolete. (I was going to say quickly, but educational institutions never do things quickly.)
I am a strong proponent of alternative education. However, I also believe that traditional schooling has played an important role in our nation state. I am deeply interested in exploring ways that traditional educational institutions could be more flexible, change with the times and meet the needs of their growing population. But I can’t say I have any good ideas at present. I fear if I had children to educate today I’d flee to homeschooling or some form of alternative education.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/apr/05/demise-of-the-nation-state-rana-dasgupta
Off the Beaten Track 