"What I want to fix your attention on is the vast overall movement towards the discrediting, and finally the elimination, of every kind of human excellence -- moral, cultural, social or intellectual.
And is it not pretty to notice how 'democracy' (in the incantatory sense) is now doing for us the work that was once done by the most ancient dictatorships, and by the same methods?
The basic proposal of the new education is to be that dunces and idlers must not be made to feel inferior to intelligent and industrious pupils. That would be 'undemocratic.' Children who are fit to proceed may be artificially kept back, because the others would get a trauma by being left behind. The bright pupil thus remains democratically fettered to his own age group throughout his school career, and a boy who would be capable of tackling Aeschylus or Dante sits listening to his coeval's attempts to spell out A CAT SAT ON A MAT.
We may reasonably hope for the virtual abolition of education when 'I'm as good as you' has fully had its way. All incentives to learn and all penalties for not learning will vanish. The few who might want to learn will be prevented; who are they to overtop their fellows?
And anyway, the teachers -- or should I say nurses? -- will be far too busy reassuring the dunces and patting them on the back to waste any time on real teaching. We shall no longer have to plan and toil to spread imperturbable conceit and incurable ignorance among men."
-- CS Lewis
An oft quoted thought from the great Christian thinker, Clive Staples Lewis. With the recent discussion on education and the apparent dumbing down of the curriculum, there are many people who cite the dangers of poor education, not just for the individual, but society in general.
I think this is just as much caused by socialist thought as the continuation of breakdown of the family structure. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that the socialists simply fill the vacuum created by social upheaval that has become more pronounced as secular atheism has risen. Socialism is one part of that upheaval, as the Christian Family unit breakdown is another.
I will attempt to discuss these over the coming weeks. For now, I mourn for the decline in public education. Someone, please prove my worries unfounded.
And is it not pretty to notice how 'democracy' (in the incantatory sense) is now doing for us the work that was once done by the most ancient dictatorships, and by the same methods?
The basic proposal of the new education is to be that dunces and idlers must not be made to feel inferior to intelligent and industrious pupils. That would be 'undemocratic.' Children who are fit to proceed may be artificially kept back, because the others would get a trauma by being left behind. The bright pupil thus remains democratically fettered to his own age group throughout his school career, and a boy who would be capable of tackling Aeschylus or Dante sits listening to his coeval's attempts to spell out A CAT SAT ON A MAT.
We may reasonably hope for the virtual abolition of education when 'I'm as good as you' has fully had its way. All incentives to learn and all penalties for not learning will vanish. The few who might want to learn will be prevented; who are they to overtop their fellows?
And anyway, the teachers -- or should I say nurses? -- will be far too busy reassuring the dunces and patting them on the back to waste any time on real teaching. We shall no longer have to plan and toil to spread imperturbable conceit and incurable ignorance among men."
-- CS Lewis
An oft quoted thought from the great Christian thinker, Clive Staples Lewis. With the recent discussion on education and the apparent dumbing down of the curriculum, there are many people who cite the dangers of poor education, not just for the individual, but society in general.
I think this is just as much caused by socialist thought as the continuation of breakdown of the family structure. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that the socialists simply fill the vacuum created by social upheaval that has become more pronounced as secular atheism has risen. Socialism is one part of that upheaval, as the Christian Family unit breakdown is another.
I will attempt to discuss these over the coming weeks. For now, I mourn for the decline in public education. Someone, please prove my worries unfounded.
Good post, I hadn't read that quote before. One big thing the state education system does is teach one viewpoint as absolute fact to be memorised (which makes it easy to indoctrinate kids), rather than showing differing viewpoints and teaching children to use their minds (raising children that it is hard to indoctrinate).
ReplyDeletehttp://sjdennis.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/free-thought-repressed/
The only hope I can give is that there are still schools where excellence is recognized and rewarded.
ReplyDeleteWhere advanced students are extended and those who lag behind are encouraged.
Where rewards must be earned and where bad behavior is admonished.
The local Catholic school, actually!
Sadly Zen, the French education system has filled the "vacuum created by social upheaval that has become more pronounced as secular atheism has risen" with:
ReplyDeletehttp://squaredrive.wordpress.com/2008/11/19/the-essential-qualities-of-marriage/
Be interested in thoughts on this issue...
That is an interesting situation.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, it was an arranged marriage.
Secondly, both parties wanted out.
Thirdly, the court is not granting an annulment even though both "consent" to it. However, I'm surprised that they simply cannot get an annulment based on any other number of reasons, as most people in France can get divorced easily.
The moral issue of not being full and frank prior to marriage is a trickier one. I can see why she said nothing, given that the marriage was arranged by their families. That environment would add much pressure, which all exploded on the wedding night.
I wouldn't put it in the same category as adultery following marriage, but we can see how being quiet about this has ultimately ended a relationship after 2 years of courtship.
There cannot have been enough love and healthy communication between them during this courtship time to make the previous indiscretion irrelevant, and that speaks volumes.