When is something real? LO23452

Brian Gordon (briangordon@livetolearn.com)
Tue, 30 Nov 1999 18:09:55 -0700

Replying to LO23428 --

John Gunkler wrote:

>Somehow we talked
>ourselves into a situation in our education system, and in society at
>large, where we no longer focus on helping people get what they really
>need (in the long run.) Instead we feel we must meet people's expressed,
>current needs. Now meeting current needs can be part of a motivational
>system -- but, as anyone who has tried to raise a young child can attest,
>you don't do anyone a favor by giving them nothing but what they want
>right now.

John and all, I don't think that the school system has EVER taught people
what they really need. The purpose of education is most certainly not to
teach children how to think, because that would involve questioning
authority, and we can't have that, can we? Yet, without it, there will be
no learning organizations. I think that schools are designed to teach
children how to conform so that they will be good (meaning quiet) citizens
and worker bees.

I suppose it depends what we think children "really need (in the long
run)." I think that more creativity, openness (including being open to
other ways of organizing society and organizations), logical reasoning
ability, and so on are very important. Schools currently focus on rote
learning and obedience. (My apologies to those schools which do not
operate in this manner!)

Brian

briangordon@livetolearn.com
Live to Learn
www.livetolearn.com

-- 

"Brian Gordon" <briangordon@livetolearn.com>

Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>