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Re: Education, business and work
hjmartin (hatch@RICHMOND.INFI.NET)
Thu, 17 Oct 1996 16:39:03 -0400
Wade,
Thanks for your response. Sorry about the astounding ambiguity. It is I,
not you, who is astounded.
When local bidnesmn make remarks about how they would 'straighten education
out' they almost invariably use a trade-school model as the pattern for high
school. The model is built on the assumption that the proper work of
education is to train workers for business. What is more, when businesses
vaunt the so-called benefits of 'imparting skills', 'creating competencies',
and 'getting real life experiences', my jaundiced ear often hears code
words that mean exploiting high school kids in jobs after school. (Nothing
wrong with working after school. Something wrong with budnesmn spinning the
image with sociogibberish, especially when its directly serves their
bottom-line interests.) The idea that education is a form of social capital
(using Ron's analogy) that cannot diminish through distribution does not
cross their minds. The idea that a liberal education is personally
liberating doesn't carry a lot of weight either. (They may be captains of
industry, but the ship they want to build is only a log raft.)
Nothing new here. Just an addendum & clarification.
Regards,
Jim Martin
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HJMartin
Richmond, VA
(804) 740-0170 (H)
(804) 786-5188 (O)
internet:
hatch@richmond.infi.net
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