As usual, you are thoughtful and erudite. If I may offer a few brief thoughts of my own: On the one hand, we cannot turn every child into a leading intellectual, a classical scholar, or a professional scientist or engineer, and with some children, it’s just cruelty to try; on the other hand, we should try to give every child the chance to get a good basic education, with “basic” meaning, among other things, providing a basis for further learning, whether of STEM, of history, of the classics, of literature, or of whatever else may appeal to the child’s interests or practical needs. This is a matter both of giving fair opportunities to the children, and of producing adults with the skills society will need.
We should educate people in civics to the degree that they will not be deceived by a demagogue and ignoramus like Trump, but I see difficulties in getting this done well. When schools claim to teach critical thinking skills, it’s often an excuse for not imparting actual knowledge that could provide material to think about. There are also complaints, sometimes justified, about political indoctrination; I could imagine a teacher telling his pupils (quite accurately) that Trump is a bad man and a purveyor of base and misleading rhetoric, yet not educating them to spot another demagogue with a different political stance and set of promises.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2021-01-04 11:08 pm (UTC)We should educate people in civics to the degree that they will not be deceived by a demagogue and ignoramus like Trump, but I see difficulties in getting this done well. When schools claim to teach critical thinking skills, it’s often an excuse for not imparting actual knowledge that could provide material to think about. There are also complaints, sometimes justified, about political indoctrination; I could imagine a teacher telling his pupils (quite accurately) that Trump is a bad man and a purveyor of base and misleading rhetoric, yet not educating them to spot another demagogue with a different political stance and set of promises.