on the subject of american public schools

[rone]

<dem-> eh, what they teach hardly matters.  american culture glorifies stupidity and ignorance
<ronebofh> and i wish i knew why.
<venividi> it's what you get when you cross egalitarianism with mediocrity

Comments

[johnstonmr]

That's a nice soundbite, but the problem goes back all the way to our Puritan founders. Those people were seriously fracked up, and their taint continues to this day. We like to tell ourselves how this country used to be much more intellectual, but it's hogwash. Throughout our history, we've had a split personality -- on the one hand praising visionary inventors, but on the other hand looking down on anyone with intellectual pursuits. The issues in our school system are made worse by stupid decisions, of course, but the problem is much deeper than the schools.

It has gotten worse than it used to be, though, at least in my everyday life. I've often wondered at the way in which people think I'm odd because I read a lot. Not my friends, of course, but people in general.

[thingamarob.livejournal.com]

Ah ha! The root of questions like these. (http://www.livejournal.com/users/rupertrupinette/9920.html) Also, makes me think of David Cross's recent letter to Larry the Cable Guy. (http://www.bobanddavid.com/david.asp?artId=183) If linking to my blog (or anywhere else) is rude, please let me know. Still not sure on all the online etiquette.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

I'd be hard pressed to say it's gotten worse for me; 25 years ago I was getting punched in the gut fairly regularly for being a weird intellectual nerd, and nobody's punched me in the gut for a long time. But that's mostly because I'm out of junior high school. Stage-of-life effects count for a lot.

[johnstonmr]

Oh, I should have been more clear; I didn't mean it's gotten worse for me in general; like you, I'm long out of jr. high. That said, however, I've received odd looks on the bus or train while reading. On one occasion, I was verbally snarked at, with much "What a fuckin' idiot" commentary, because the book happened to be titled The Neutronium Alchemist.

On the whole, though, I think the anti-intelligence crusade has been picking up steam in America in the last twenty years.

[glitter-ninja.livejournal.com]

Are we talking stupidity or willful ignorance? Because they are two different things. There are plenty of people who are stupid and it's no fault of their own. However, those who are willfully ignorant can change, they choose not to.

I don't know that the U.S. culture glorifies stupidity. It glorifies mediocrity, that's for sure, and the sort of "down to earth" stereotype. Now, I can see government and corporations thriving on stupidity and encouraging it -- makes it easier to pull one over on people. But I can't think of a single cultural thing that glorifies stupidity in and of itself.

[cheesetruck.livejournal.com]

I can't either.

And television isn't cultural.

[glitter-ninja.livejournal.com]

You're being sarcastic? I should have mentioned that I don't watch television. Guess there could be sitcoms and the like which do glorify stupidity and I wouldn't know it. Got any examples?

[cheesetruck.livejournal.com]

No, I'm being literal.

I _cannot_ think of any CULTURAL things which glorify stupidity. I don't watch telvision either, save one show from the UK that I watched a bit ago that is no longer on; and I continually hear from tv addicts how crap it is and then whining when it's sweeps week that the shows aren't on. My point was that the majority of references that people will give me about how stupid things are would be from TV, and I don't consider that cultural.

However, a recent suggestion somewhere (maybe even in Rone's past bloggage) made the point that TV _could_ be considered today's cultural references, as that's where the common man gets his 'culture.' Books and plays and so forth were such a while ago; but are now 'elite' status, so to speak. Was an interesting point. Doesn't change MY view that it's not cultural in this sense, but I'm using semantics to my own advantage (:

[omarius.livejournal.com]

Where potterygirl teaches, the school sucks because the kids run the schools. There is no way to discipline them. They fear neither the teacher nor the "Conduct Notice" nor the "Conduct Referral" nor Detention nor Suspension nor Expulsion. Education and educators are these annoying things that go on in the background while they hang out with their friends and do what they damn well please.

So in addition to the culture of self-imposed ignorance, there is no longer any cumpulsoriness in cumpulsory education. So why make the disinterested & hostile kids go? Why should they fuck up education for everyone else? Because OMG, that's marginalizing the disadvantaged and leaving children behind! So they show up every day, cause as much grief as possible to those teachers who attempt to get them to do anything, and get passed up in grade for reasons of age rather than performance.

I'm convinced it will never be fixed.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

The only sort of link that would be rude would be of a purely commercial sort, especially if it bears no relevance to the original post.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

*PHWEET* Two minutes for playing silly buggers with semantics.