[ExI] focus

[SR Ballard]

> The bee in my bonnet several times in this group has been to decry the
> absence of teaching thinking in school.  We teach superstitions practically
> from birth.  Should we wait until college to provide means of disputing
> superstitions and religions?  Even there I have seen curricula that are
> very wanting in such, unless the principles are taught in science classes,
> which I certainly did ab ovo.
>
> The reason for the lack of these classes must be the opposition of the
> superstitious and religious - am I right?  They don't want any opposition
> to their precious ideas and ways, since these were handed down by God.
> Hence religion is not taught either.
>
> It is a wonder to me that we get as many rational people as we do.  I had
> one friend tell me that he never believed any of it, starting with Santa
> Claus.  No one helped him - he just had a good brain and used it.
>
> I have to wonder if societies in which religion is actively suppressed,
> like China, have a larger percentage of young people who can think
> correctly.  As a libertarian I am opposed to suppression, but the reasons
> for it are sound.  I wonder about the outcome.
>
> bill w
>

I'm not sure if it can be really all be blamed on religion, though some
parts of it can.

For example, I believe that it was not legal to teach evolution fully in
the state where I went to High School. Our teacher covered it in just a few
sentences, and this is almost exactly what he said, "Now, I can't tell you
what to think or believe, but some people thinking that evolution is real.
Evolution is the idea that all species share common ancestors, and the one
farthest back is thought to be a single cell. Other people don't believe
this is true." And then we moved on and never spoke of it ever again. That
was my entire school education on evolution. I've recently been watching a
series tracing the evolution of humans through time. It's about episode 33
and we've just barely gotten to true mammals. I think it would have been
great educational material for High School students. Absolutely any doubts
I ever had about the system were cleared up, because it is specifically
designed to address creationist arguments. It's great stuff.  The lack of
education on evolution in schools is clearly guided by religious beliefs.

Another part of the educational system that suffers due to religious
beliefs is health education, such as sex education and reporductive health.
These were basically covered even less than evolution. Except a nice quip
by our ancient-man health teacher that condoms weren't even effective, so
it's not better than pulling out. Saying that to teenagers might as well
count as criminal irresponsibility.

But in general, I think that the function and structure fo the modern
public school system are more ideological and political in a secular way,
than in a religious one. It doesn't encourage critical and independent
thinking because it's not meant to. It's meant to get students to comply
and to buy into cultural (and economic) narratives. I think it serves,
generally, to create "sheep". I had the unfortnate experience of switching
schools in 10th grade and spending a semester in a "regular pace"
classroom. The class was learning to diagram sentences, and could not
identify verbs or nouns. I ended up helping my poor teacher by tutoring 1-2
students while she worked with others. Similarly, the students were just
now learning the "hamburger method" of writing a paragraph. It might also
be called the 5 sentence model of the paragraph. I would be so far ahead
and so bored in my math classes that I the teacher usually let me tutor one
of the weakest students so that I would not lose my mind. And these are
kids 1-2 years above me.

Also, many students are well below grade level, and have given up on
school. they are rowdy and difficult to focus or control. To teach children
critical thinking in a situation where a teacher barely has control of a
class and there is often violence and drugs in schools is to invite total
and complete chaos. I saw heroin in my school. I saw fights. We had kids
call in bomb threats. One year, the fire alarm was pulled over a dozen
times, just for fun. There were rats in the ceiling. Teachers had neither
the time, inclination, or ability to teach critical and independent
thinking.

So, I think that religion does play a part, but that the poor state of the
educational system is due more to secular ideological factors, and poor
overall school conditions.
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