Silencing the Thinking
A new education law promoted by the conservative Partido Popular (PP) has been gradually going into effect. It's another intent by the conservatives to educate non-thinking workers. There's a lot of incorporation of new technologies, etc, but also the disappearance of a humanities point of view. Rather than educate the citizen, they now want to educate the worker. One of the ways is by making philosophy an optional subject rather than the obligatory one it had been until now.
Granted that in most schools it was probably poorly taught, concentrating on memorizing names, dates, schools of thought, and little else. I doubt many classes were actually debating ideas. Still, it was an exposure to different ways of thinking and looking at the world. It was a way of trying to get bored adolescents to at least recognize that their questions have been asked before. But since it doesn't interest those in power to create thinking citizens, it was scrapped. Probably because the one student who would have interested himself in learning different ways of thinking would be the smart one who would then use that knowledge to challenge the powers-that-be.
Today there is a debate in the regional parliament on a non-binding proposition that asks to have philosophy reinstated as an obligatory subject in the last two years of high school. It's an initiative presented by a group of philosophy teachers. They collected almost ten thousand signatures, and presented the proposal earlier this year. In the public balcony, there are going to be high school students and teachers. Two of the students are college majors in Philosophy, one of them my daughter.
She told me about it last night by message, and included the program given to those who will attend. She is not enthused that everything is so regulated and precise, down to the very minute. Of course, these days with so many threats, the security is understandable. Still, it does seem as if the lawmakers are trying to keep out the very public they are legislating for. My worry is her trying to call out the conservatives during the debate. While I would admire her pluck, I wouldn't admire her rap sheet. Still, the most likely scenario is that she will get an anxiety attack instead, listening to empty platitudes about how there are only so many hours in the day to prepare our youth for the working world. I understand that despair, that feeling of something tearing inside you as those in charge do not listen to those they represent; rather they listen to those who clink the money bags.
And in the end, nothing will get done. Philosophy will remain an optional subject, which no one will take because an employer will not care if you can recite Plato or Wittgenstein. But Plato or Wittgenstein can teach you to understand a problem and look for a different way to fix it, which is a quality every employer wants to find. The only problem for those in charge, is that the philosophers can also teach you to discover that those in charge are not always correct, and that things can be done differently, for the common good, rather than for the individual greed. Even if the proposal passes, since it's non-binding, it's simply a paper tiger. The roar will be so slight, it will be brushed off as unimportant white noise.
Granted that in most schools it was probably poorly taught, concentrating on memorizing names, dates, schools of thought, and little else. I doubt many classes were actually debating ideas. Still, it was an exposure to different ways of thinking and looking at the world. It was a way of trying to get bored adolescents to at least recognize that their questions have been asked before. But since it doesn't interest those in power to create thinking citizens, it was scrapped. Probably because the one student who would have interested himself in learning different ways of thinking would be the smart one who would then use that knowledge to challenge the powers-that-be.
Today there is a debate in the regional parliament on a non-binding proposition that asks to have philosophy reinstated as an obligatory subject in the last two years of high school. It's an initiative presented by a group of philosophy teachers. They collected almost ten thousand signatures, and presented the proposal earlier this year. In the public balcony, there are going to be high school students and teachers. Two of the students are college majors in Philosophy, one of them my daughter.
She told me about it last night by message, and included the program given to those who will attend. She is not enthused that everything is so regulated and precise, down to the very minute. Of course, these days with so many threats, the security is understandable. Still, it does seem as if the lawmakers are trying to keep out the very public they are legislating for. My worry is her trying to call out the conservatives during the debate. While I would admire her pluck, I wouldn't admire her rap sheet. Still, the most likely scenario is that she will get an anxiety attack instead, listening to empty platitudes about how there are only so many hours in the day to prepare our youth for the working world. I understand that despair, that feeling of something tearing inside you as those in charge do not listen to those they represent; rather they listen to those who clink the money bags.
And in the end, nothing will get done. Philosophy will remain an optional subject, which no one will take because an employer will not care if you can recite Plato or Wittgenstein. But Plato or Wittgenstein can teach you to understand a problem and look for a different way to fix it, which is a quality every employer wants to find. The only problem for those in charge, is that the philosophers can also teach you to discover that those in charge are not always correct, and that things can be done differently, for the common good, rather than for the individual greed. Even if the proposal passes, since it's non-binding, it's simply a paper tiger. The roar will be so slight, it will be brushed off as unimportant white noise.
Philosophy is a required subject in French schools and I'm very glad my children were exposed to it. It kicked off some great dinnertime discussions at home. Yes, it did force them to recognize that there are some eternal questions that people have spent centuries trying to answer.
ReplyDeleteAs for whether or not it is "useful" for the 21st century working world one of our friends back in the US majored in Philosophy at university and went on to found a company which has been very successful. He is probably the most interesting entrepreneur I know. Was it his studies that made this happen? We;;, it sure didn't prevent it. :-)
The problem is we have a very short-sighted government who thinks the problem with the alarming youth unemployment is that they aren't prepared enough for the modern workforce. The truth is they are prepared and over-prepared. In Spain the humanities have also always been seen as not worth the trouble, even as dangerous during the Franco years. So their inheritors, the PP, have taken a sledgehammer to them. As seen from the latest developments in Catalunya, we are therefore condemned to repeat our history because we have chosen to ignore it in the schoolroom and in political debate.
DeleteYes, I have heard that too. The answer to youth unemployment is education! And now we have some very unhappy educated under-employed youth. :-) How soon before the government decides that emigration is the answer? I'm not kidding - the French government quietly supports programs for young French to go abroad and work....
ReplyDelete