Actually, I think it's a symptom of the systemic effort that conservatives have done to discount education.
From my jaded perspective. Conservatives made a huge blunder with education. They seemed to always have this attitude, well let the ‘left’ have the schools, kids will grow up and move to the right once they need jobs. For a while that was the case, but the left eventually got much better at pushing their agenda’s on students to the point young adults even if the moved right after school they were still very far to the left. -Speaking of the overton window - Then because conservatives basically abandoned the school system to the left, and it is pretty busted at this point, the last 20ish years its just tearing down the need for higher education. Id personally agree there’s a ton of crap in the education system that needs fixed, but encouraging kids to not go to college or seek some form of ‘higher’ education is just dumb. You think Im long winded now the school system is something I could write a novel on... Anyways, conservatives now seem to have a blow up the schools mentality rather than try to work to fix the issues. They like to blame ‘liberals (though they really arent classical liberals)’ for all the problems, but they had opportunities to fix or to help fix it and didnt.
I was reading (well listening to) that book that @DUB had talked about about the 11 nations of America. It's a fascinating book, and explained a lot of why certain areas of the country are the way they are, and why certain regions/beliefs place value in education and others don't. I think they, and by "they" I mean the GOP and not run of the mill conservatives, want a populous that is easier to manipulate. I.e., less educated and suspect of those who are. The whole "liberal elites" is a fascinating movement by the GOP. Especially considering the people who are using that label, try to pass themselves off as a "common man", when there is absolutely no way they are even remotely common. They're just as "elite" (or distant from the average American) as the group they rail against. Just as those who are "liberal elites" aren't even remotely close to being an average American.
I tend to think there are those who want to manipulate through education, and those who want to manipulate through a lack of it. Where conservatives screwed up is they decided to ignore education (probably for manipulative reasons). Educations an interesting subject though, because typically historically education is in and of itself nothing but a system for the elites to get the labor they need or want for their systems (left or right is irrelevant here). If society needed farmers, blacksmiths, loggers, whatever than the ‘education’ was to hand down knowledge on how to do those things. As technology has progressed and a need for engineers came education has focused on the skills for engineers. Its really just a system to give society skilled workers for the ‘elites’ to profit off of. Its why they have different levels of higher education too, and the schools like Oxford or the Ivy League schools are pretty much either for the financially elite, or the exceptionally gifted. Im thankful we live in a time with as much education and information that we have.
the latest attempts of conservative changes to the school system seem to be favoring the private education model. one of the purposes of this is that public schools don't allow for the teaching of any religious docrtine, and many of those that can afford it would prefer that the value system they grew up with is part of the education of the next generation. through the voucher programs, home schooling and monies that were intended to help public schools through the CARES act being rerouted to private institutions are the latest attempts to advance their agenda. rather than fight for change, the established law that the courts have handed down for the secular/public school systems, a work around is being established. it tends to segregate the students even further by economic and racial divides. wanting to have your child taught in a setting that reflects ones own values should be available to everyone, though i don't necessarily believe the government should be required to assist in the inherent divisions that seem to result.
Wanting it should certainly be available to everyone. Getting it should not. Some people's values are so fucked up they shouldn't be allowed to have their kids exposed to only that. Kids will obviously be exposed to their parent's values, or lack thereof. It doesn't hurt them to be exposed to normal American values in addition. barfo
"Normal American values?" It probably does hurt them, but at least in the same way as everyone else. We don't want any...deviants.
Exactly. Our youth should be homogenized, like our milk. White, and quietly left on the doorstep. barfo
Exactly. So we have to pit that guy against himself and see who wins. One man enters, half a man leaves! One man enters, half a man leaves! barfo
People want jobs when they finish schools, right? It shouldn't be any surprise that education would be geared toward a career earning a living.
