tanstaafl
2008-02-03 07:54:18
When I was in school, it was a toss up between training a mind and conditioning a mind.
In these times, it is my impression that indoctrination of a captive audience has won the day as the role of the government schools.
Part of the explanation (over and above (for example) the ideological slant of the NEA) is the decline in teacher quality and rote inculcation is so much easier than exploring interesting and challenging academic territory.
As I once read a quotation from a (it happened to be Mormon) churchmeister…”You don’t have to think, we’ve done the thinking for you.”
