The Lack of a Future of Education

This may seem a little off of the beaten path I have laid out for myself since starting this site, but I wanted to write about education. Personally speaking, I have no children. The little interaction I have with my niece and nephew is the extent of my own experience with the educational system. I am 13 years removed from my own state-funded indoctrination, so it is not fresh for me from a student’s point of view either. But, I have absolutely no problem assuming a position of knowledge in spite of my ignorance on the issue. So, enjoy, as I do my damnedest to destroy any hope you may have harbored about the future of our education culture – class is in session.

the state of the public education system

Instead of pointing fingers at those responsible for the problem of education in America, I will skip that part and move right into the meat of the matter. Besides, they are too numerous to name, and I only have so many fingers…

A Brief History of State-Funded Indoctrination

From the beginning of history up to around WWII, the vast majority of Americans (rich people don’t count) were limited in education to the three R’s – if this is any indication of how well that was going, two of the three R’s are spelled wrong. After WWII, some well intentioned people decided that Americans would be better off if we were all educated. The logic was that rich people were well educated, and they were rich – so it should work about the same for the rest of us. And so it was, the Education Industrial Complex developed from humble beginnings and good intentions. As time went by it became clear that large swaths of the country were not as enthusiastic about this whole education thing as others. So in order to try to equalize the system to some degree, some basic requirements were instituted. The federal government, under President Carter in 1979, decided that there should be a chunk of executive branch bureaucracy dedicated to running this system. The indoctrination of youth has since been federalized and runs an annual tab of about $70 billion/year.

The Idea and the Product

Today we have a system that does next to nothing to educate students. The purpose of education in America today is two fold.

1. Churn out product for the market (the market is funded, monitored, micro-managed and generally cluster-fucked into oblivion by government).

2. Introduce and reinforce the idea.

First let me talk a little bit about what I mean when I say product. A child enters elementary school and from that point until completion of high school it is taught basic information and tested to verify a minimal level of understanding. Context of information, intellectual curiousity, independent thinking and individual mental freedom is discouraged. Creativity and contrary opinions on matters is likewise discouraged or not tolerated. The low-level government bureaucrat in charge of developing the product is under-trained, under-paid and often continuing their own education so they don’t have to teach anymore, so they are basically indifferent.It is therefore no surprise that the product of such a system is an insecure, standardized, de-individualized, chemically balanced empty soul otherwise known as a “graduate.”

After 13 years of indoctrination the product is now ready for either further systematic validation in college or a case study in failure centered on one of the following; early pregnancy, drug abuse, anti-social behavior, sexual deviancy or military service.

Assuming some relative value, at this point in the process, the product chooses its profession and is indoctrinated not only into that profession, but also into the universal idea that being a product of the education system is not only necessary but should be sought after by all. This is reinforced to all product at different points in time by various authority figures in both the public and private sector. The idea can dually be used as an explanation of failure – you are a fry cook because you didn’t go to college – or as a means to reinforce cooperation on the part of the product – you are able to get this high paying job testing new fry grease because you have been extensively indoctrinated.

The idea is also instilled in all product that all of this pointless nonsense somehow entitles them to a higher standard of living than the lesser-indoctrinated product that did not progress so far. You will notice this superiority complex in a lot of product as they look down upon the mere working class – from which they are separated by a piece of paper and a couple of lucky breaks. Anyone in a profession involving manual labor is generally discounted by the product, particularly if the trade is one that pays a decent wage. Product can’t stand this sort of information. No plumber or electrician should ever make as much as them. After all, they have a piece of paper…

So after 4-10 years of additional indoctrination, the product is now ready for the “real world.” Here they take a position and most of them spend their first few weeks learning all of the information that they need to do their job. Even though they likely did not possess any experience or specific knowledge to perform properly, the idea is reinforced by the product’s employer that all of that “education” was necessary and somehow qualified them for the job. The truth is that the vast majority of professions require no “higher” education at all to perform them. The point is to indoctrinate you into the idea and to provide a level of job protection for those that have access to education. Simply allowing anyone off the street to apply for a job would level the playing field out for all potential employees.

I don’t want to sound conspiratorial about this. I honestly don’t think that the powers that be consciously think about it this way at all. They are true believers in the system and since the system has done so much for them, it is beyond questioning. To them, education is necessary. They believe in that idea. Never mind the fact that it is all a waste of time and resources to get through the system.

I digress. There you have the three levels of the education system. They disguise it all under the veil of meritocracy, but in reality that is simply not the case. Those with a natural advantage that are predisposed to conformity and structured learning will excel along with birthright products that had it handed to them every step of the way. The idea teaches you to worship the overly ambitious product. They are the embodiment of the American dream. The latter type of product is more of a product of what I would call the American reality.

Enough Already, Onto the Future

Today there are millions of units of product at various stages of development. These units are being instilled with the same bullshit as their predecessors, but they do not face the same future. Unfortunately, the lies being told to the next generation of product will not be so easily maintained. The facade will begin to come unraveled. In the face of this slow unraveling, the next generation of finished product will be produced and spit out into reality without a clue as to how they will survive. They were educated in abstractions and distractions in the name of bettering themselves when all they have really done is dumb themselves into a trap of specialization. They can’t think beyond their professions, they feel entitled to the high standard of living they have been teased with as a “reward” for “success” and they will refuse to accept that their reality is anything but what they invisioned.
I don’t blame the product completely. They were doing as they were told. They were following the path of least resistance and they were never encouraged to know better. They were washed clean of any remnants of their possible salt of the earth origin.

Seriously Though, What about the Future?

As resource depletion and its ramifications become more apparent, the fraud of education will be exposed and hopefully treated reasonably as a waste of time and money in many cases. Increasingly, the populations of the United States and other countries of the global north will be separated into two camps. In one camp, rich people and a few hangers on that have made themselves indispensable to the rich will continue on in some version of society that vaguely resembles today with decreased financial incentives. They will educate one another and keep the education industrial complex going on a scaled down level. In the other camp, the vast majority of the rest of us will continue on in the reality of how education was before the brief period from 1948-2008. We will learn what is necessary and I imagine will pick up some extras as knowledge is so much more readily available due to 60 years of educational and informational expansion.