[MD] Imaginings

[John Carl]

On Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 9:31 AM, Arlo Bensinger <ajb102 at psu.edu> wrote:

> [John]
> Japan and Finland are very diverse societys, right?  With lots of different
> cultural groups? Ha.  I actually mean, NOT!!!
>
> [Arlo]
> So you see the problem with education being the presence of other "cultural
> groups"? Like who? Hispanics? Blacks? Jews?
>
>
I see the problem with education being teaching the same monolithic humanism
to every cultural group in the country, whether they like it or not.
 Forcing a certain somish worldview down everybody's throat, whether their
cultural background is served by this or not.  A "lowest common denominator"
problem with always pandering to the lowest.



> Finland and Japan are quite diverse politically and intellectually. There
> is as much "diversity" in thought there as we find here. Unless you mean
> that they are all the same skin color? You don't mean that, do you?
>

You have got to be kidding, right?  You think Japan has the same diversity
in thought as America?  Wait a minute.  You don't kid around like that.   Ok
Arlo, you find me two people who have actual experience with Japanese,
Finish and American cultures who would support that statement and I will
perform whatever expiation in wouldshed or cellar you demand.

I have a good friend who teaches high school and she talked about how upset
her black students were with her for NOT realizing how different they were.
 For assuming this bland, one-size-fits-all educational system will just
automatically meet every cultures and ethnicity's needs.  Do you realize how
arrogant that is?


>
> My daughter's class has many people from various ethnic and cultural
> backgrounds. No problems there.
>
> You argument also would seem to indicate that public schools only "fail" in
> areas where people are not "all the same". If that's so, the public schools
> in Oklahoma and Nebraska should top the world! This goes to your next point
> as well...
>
> [John]
> Not gonna be real difficult to demonstrate "real community life" in such a
> society either.  It's all built in.
>
> [Arlo]
> Again, if what mattered was whether or not all the people were "the same",
> this real community that you say would be "built in" would be remarkabley
> noticible in Oklahoma and Nebraska. It is not. We see across the board, in
> uni-ethnic and multi-ethic regions, a lack of community investiture, driven
> by condemnations of the "public" schools.
>
>
America is a very diverse country and it doesn't have as much to do with
ethnicity as it does religion.  Count how many different religions there are
in any town in Oklahoma or Nebraska vs. the entire country of Japan and
you'd see the point I was trying to make.


> [John]
> The reason for vouchers in America is not to improve the populace as a
> whole, but to allow the expression and training in the diversity we have.
>
> [Arlo]
> This can be better achieved by reforming public educational practices,
> beginning with instilling community involvement and valuation in the public
> education process. As I said, I am all for multiple learning styles, for
> varying and encouraging learning environments, but this begins not with
> "privatizing" but with investiture.
>
>
We differ there, but that's probably natural in that our roles in the debate
are so different - you being a teacher, me being a parent.



> [Arlo]
> My kid gets her "values" from family, home and our involvement in our
> community. I don't send her to "school" for those.
>
>

  If you think there is no transmission of value in school, that's the MoQ
equivalent of saying school has no value.









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