[MD] Imaginings

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

[John]
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.

[Arlo]
What "humanism" is being taught to every cultural group? Scientific
objectivism? Hey, again, these are things that are better served by reforming
education, not privatizing it.

Let me ask, since you mention "cultural diversity" being the problem with
public education in America... how would "vouchers" handle this? 

Do you forsee schools that cater to one specifc "cultural group"? 

To clarify, give me some examples of what you consider a "cultural group" here? 

You mentioned your daughter may want to attend Oxford. Its a good school, no?
Is it "uni-cultural"? Does it not cater to the cultural needs of a diverse
population? Is "diversity" only bad in K12 environments?

[John]
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.

[Arlo]
You have got to be kidding, right? Do you think all Japanese people think the
same? Do you think all white people think the same? Why would all the Japanese
think the same thing, but American whites are intellectual diverse?

If you say that American whites are NOT intellectual diverse, then do you see
this as a positive characteristic or a negative one? If you say they are, what
makes American whites intellectual diverse, but Japanese intellectually
similar? (Same goes for the Finnish population)


[John]
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.

[Arlo]
Do you think blacks should be in different schools because of their different
cultural characteristics??

[John]
Do you realize how arrogant that is?

[Arlo]
I am not assuming a "one size fits all" model. Indeed, I have long argued that
educational reform should address the varying learning needs and styles of the
students, needs to address the higher critical thinking skills over the low
information retrieval skills, needs to integrate school activity with the
real-world activity of the students. Much we can do, should do, but
privatization is not the answer.

[John]
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.

[Arlo]
Wait. Are you saying that public education fails in Oklahoma because Baptists
are forced to school with Episcopalians? 

Are you saying that Oklahoma's towns are more "diverse" than Tokyo?????

[John]
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]
I am a parent too. 

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

[Arlo]
I am sure she is exposed to other values. In fact, I am grateful for it. But I
don't rely school to teach her my values. I do that. In the end, I teach her
what I believe, I encourage her to be exposed to as much as possible, and in
the end its her decision.