They Teach the Children

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Abstract

the current system in the USA, where illiterate parents and politically-motivated legislators determine what can be taught in K-12 schools, what books can be read, which books to <b>burn!</b></i></p><p id="0b22">Heaven help us if we offend anyone, make anyone feel “bad” about our past. “They” cannot allow students to learn how to <b><i>think</i></b>, but only to do what they are told.</p><p id="b1d8">We are raising a crop of followers, young people who will never become leaders, ignorant of lessons of the past, and having been trained to accept authority, not to challenge it.</p><p id="7f93"><i>“God told me to do it” </i>becomes the new mantra, <i>“patriotism”</i> becomes “shoot anyone who disagrees with my interpretation of the bible” (intentionally not capitalized), and the deep black holes of <i>“capitalism” </i>and <i>“consumerism” </i>destroy the Earth (intentionally capitalized), while those of us who know better hunker helplessly in small groups, expressing gratitude that we’re old and probably won’t live to see the outcome of these travesties.</p><p id="ce48">Thanks for reading this far. So tell me: what are we going to do about all this? We already have proof that thoughts and prayers are useless.</p><p id="e46f"><i>More from me:</i></

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p><div id="5b48" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/truth-be-told-ebfea7509ba"> <div> <div> <h2>Truth Be Told?</h2> <div><h3>A letter to elected officials everywhere, and a hopeful headline</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*wfysmwVk-cxcrUFpZhtwsQ.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="dcbf"><i>And from my pal <a href="undefined">Shadowgnosis</a>:</i></p><div id="a714" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/mike-pence-in-session-14-ccae568ba7bb"> <div> <div> <h2>Mike Pence In Session (14)</h2> <div><h3>The Lay Psychiatrist has to deal with a whiter man than thou</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*S39KQQccCYnhpSjWdGg0dA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Is it education? Or brainwashing?

Happy school girls, Bali, Indonesia. Photo by author.

They teach them to fight, build stadiums for sport but where are the parks where they learn to play?

They teach them civics, but not civility, history but not truth, war, but not how to make peace

They teach them business, profit and loss, but don’t teach them what’s right, what’s good for all

They teach them agriculture, not how to garden — ignoring the pleas of the wilderness

They believe in ghosts, goblins, gods, but have no faith in mankind

They love pets dogs, cats and birds but hunt and kill wild animals

We all feel the heat, the cold, the climate change, but fill our cars with fossil fuel

What would our world be like if they taught children truth and beauty and how to think for themselves?

Author’s note: As a former educator in sciences and math, I am furious at the current system in the USA, where illiterate parents and politically-motivated legislators determine what can be taught in K-12 schools, what books can be read, which books to burn!

Heaven help us if we offend anyone, make anyone feel “bad” about our past. “They” cannot allow students to learn how to think, but only to do what they are told.

We are raising a crop of followers, young people who will never become leaders, ignorant of lessons of the past, and having been trained to accept authority, not to challenge it.

“God told me to do it” becomes the new mantra, “patriotism” becomes “shoot anyone who disagrees with my interpretation of the bible” (intentionally not capitalized), and the deep black holes of “capitalism” and “consumerism” destroy the Earth (intentionally capitalized), while those of us who know better hunker helplessly in small groups, expressing gratitude that we’re old and probably won’t live to see the outcome of these travesties.

Thanks for reading this far. So tell me: what are we going to do about all this? We already have proof that thoughts and prayers are useless.

More from me:

And from my pal Shadowgnosis:

POETIC RANT

They Teach the Children

Is it education? Or brainwashing?

Truth Be Told?

A letter to elected officials everywhere, and a hopeful headline

Mike Pence In Session (14)

The Lay Psychiatrist has to deal with a whiter man than thou