Re: [Phys-L] Commentary on teaching in Physics Today

[bernard cleyet <bernardcleyet@redshift.com>]

> On 2017/Mar/09, at 12:52, John Denker via Phys-l <phys-l@mail.phys-l.org> wrote:
>
>
> It's true that children start out inquisitive.  Then
> typically they grow less inquisitive as they grow older.
> Why is that?
>  a) Is it just the natural order of things?
>  b) Or does school beat the inquisitiveness out of them?
>
> Maybe it's a little of both, but even so, school should
> be pushing people toward more inquisitiveness, not less.
> School should be the opposite of Kadavergehorsamkeit.


I don’t think a. 


b.  continued:  


inquisitiveness and critical thinking are concomitant, no?  therefore:  

-------------------------------
A former Professor of Education in the US, Frank Freeman who was an eminent sociologist put it this way:

“It is the business of the school to help the child to acquire such an attitude towards the inequalities of life, whether in accomplishment or in reward, that he may adjust himself to his conditions with the least possible friction.”
That’s what schools are for. That’s what Mr Freeman says. He was the father of modern educational practice, at least for my generation.

11

I’ll give you two more quotes and then I’ll shut up. One is from a school textbook in use in the State of Illinois in elementary schools. It says:

“What did we learn today? We go to school to learn about people. We learn that people look different. People speak different languages. Some people have more than others. Some people have less. Some people know more than others. Some people know less. Some people can learn a lot. Some people can only learn a little.”


So the complete syllogism is offered to the school children: Some people have more, some people know more, some people can know more. I’m trying to convince you that I didn’t make this all up out of nothing; this bad spirit permeates the literature of education. And finally let me come to my last quote which is from this famous reactionary politician, Daniel Webster who came from New England. He was really somewhat to the right of Attila the Hun so like some people he was a radical reactionary. And that means he was not afraid to say what he really thought. He said

“Education is a wise and liberal form of police, by which property and life and the peace of society are assured.”

http://users.tpg.com.au/adsl4afm/templeton/1997templeton/1997lecture.pdf. 



“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”  (Warren Buffett)


bc thinks his point is obvious.