Education & Economic Ideologies

I just finished reading an excerpt of Grading Education by Richard Rothstein for class. In general, Rothstein is raising questions of school goals and accountability. I began thinking about the idea that schools bear the responsibility of educating children, and we expect them to fix society's problems. Some would argue that other issues, especially moral education, are up to the family (and community). Who is correct?

The argument could be made that these issues are separate. Educating children morally should be left to families, and schools should fix our society by providing academic tools. Right? Problem solved. Not that simple, of course...schools are going to teach children morals one way or the other. Even if it is merely by observation and behavioral conditioning, they are learning morals at school. So the problem cannot be so simply divided. Schools do have a moral responsibility.

I would argue that part of the problem is American economic ideologies that are in opposition to each other. Simply put: public education is a socialist goal, and private responsibility is a capitalist ideology. Are these two ideologies creating the disconnect between expectations of moral education?

I would say so. I've just begun thinking about this issue, so my thoughts are not well formed. But I think it makes sense. A purely capitalist society would oppose public education. We have conflicting ideologies in place: a socialist idea in a (mostly) capitalist society. So where does the responsibility fall? I would say it must come from both places. But that means schools do have a responsibility to educate morally.

This is probably one of the most amorphous, unclear blogposts I've had...maybe ever. All that is to say, if anyone is reading this (maybe you, Ray Jones? Brad?), PLEASE feel free to contradict what I'm saying and weigh in. Just thinking through some stuff.

Maybe my next post will be more concrete. Here's hoping.

Life

When we consider the meaning of life, as humans we are drawn to optimistic and positive interpretations. Stories that detail the importance of human relationships and the love we feel in life elicit deeply visceral reactions. Humans instinctively shun negative interpretations, because we don't want to think of life as hopeless and meaningless. However, in my experiences, many people are intrigued by negative interpretations of life's meaning, even if they are ultimately rejected.

I heard part of an argument against psychological egoism the other day that included the criticism that "good deeds don't need an explanation." In my opinion, good deeds and bad deeds do need an explanation. Even if humans aren't inherently good or inherently bad (in which case, the actions that are anomalies need explanations), actions of good and bad still need explanation. Acting for good in one instance and for bad in one instance is confounding - what is the motivation in each instance? Something motivates us to act the way we do, whether it is altruism or egoism. I think it's important to determine if we are inherently selfish or not, and the analysis of good deeds is imperative in this study.

How do those two paragraphs tie together? If psychological egoism is true, then it seems the world is a dark, selfish place. If humans tend toward altruistic acts, then the world doesn't seem so negative. So, is humanity actually good or bad?

Clearly I can't give a definitive answer in this blog post. But in my opinion, humans are egocentric creatures who have been conditioned to care for others. Our first instincts are what is good for us - this is evident from the cradle. We learn to function in society by caring about others, because otherwise society would fall apart. However, this does not change our basic nature: egoism. When you are asked to see a movie, do you not cringe at the thought of seeing a movie you thought looked dumb? Ultimately, you may defer, but your first thought was concerned with your needs. When you find out someone has a cold, our first instinct (though often made humorous) is to stay away from the other person to keep from getting sick. We occupy our thoughts with ourselves initially, and then with considerations for others. In Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilych, all of his acquaintances wonder where Ivan's death will leave them in the world. Tolstoy's dark impression of humanity is that we care for ourselves primarily.

Many would argue against this interpretation of humanity for the same reason they believe life has meaning: the alternative just doesn't feel good! Heart warming stories fill our minds with happiness, and we want to keep the negatives out of our minds. Nobody wants to believe that our life is meaningless. However, there is nothing outside of the earth that is provable or knowable. So, our lives on earth are defined only by our lives on earth. What is the point, then, if everyone ultimately dies? When the sun burns out and humans become extinct, what was the ultimate point? The argument of making the world a better place for the future will burn out at some point in time. And if we are all individually going to die, then what is the purpose of living? I can't claim to know. Maybe there is none. Maybe it's just hedonism. Of course, Aldous Huxley would disagree with that (read Brave New World!). You can't know. You should define it for yourself, I think. But the point is: think about it. Just because it seems hopeless doesn't mean it isn't the truth.

We don't like to think about the negatives in life. We don't want to think humans are egoists, and we don't want to think life is meaningless. But that doesn't mean these aren't facts. Hiding from the truth will not diminish it. The most important task in all of life is thinking through life. Don't hide behind rose colored glasses. Perhaps when we determine what really makes humanity human, we can better determine who we want to be, as I think Sartre and Nietzsche suggested. Take a walk on the dark side. It is lighter than you think.

Disney & Parenting

Last week I went to a seminar my sister and another teacher did at Governor's School West. It was about Disney and the family values communicated to us through Disney.

Bethany and Carrie seemed to focus on the absence of a mother figure in Disney movies, which I found interesting. But even more intriguing was the lack of other types of families, these two for example:
-same sex parents
-interracial parents
What Disney is doing by leaving these families out of movies is normalizing heterogeneous, all white relationships. Anything else is not even portrayed as weird: it isn't portrayed at all. This implies that it doesn't even exist as a true family.

Another point of the seminar was how prevalent Disney is. Kids learn by processing information, and the omnipresent Disney is teaching them through popular movies. It might not be explicit, but it is there: Disney is telling the next generation what to think about families, and same sex and interracial marriage aren't included. Kids who aren't exposed to this idea as OK won't think it is OK. It isn't "normal" to them.

Maybe this is a bit extreme, but pay attention to what Disney is putting in their movies. Disney might not be explicitly teaching kids that same sex and interracial families are wrong, but they certainly aren't putting in a word for it. The rest can be put together through implication - a powerful tool for children.

All I'm saying is, make sure what you put into your children's heads matches what you want them to learn. If Disney isn't teaching your kids the morals you want them to learn, be wary.

Undergraduate Graduation

Well, I haven't written in my blog for almost 2 years. I just finished up my undergraduate degree at Chapel Hill, however, and I feel I should revisit the blog (especially with my girlfriend's recent blogging activity). I think if I begin to use this regularly again, it will be a good place to sift through my philosophical musings. Writing things down has always been helpful to me in reaching conclusions regarding my own thoughts. It's good for me to organize my thoughts and progress them, even if I don't necessarily reach a conclusion. I should probably do some more thinking regarding the issues of meaning in life, race, homosexuality, and good/bad. I'll try to work through those 4 issues this summer.

OK that's enough of that for now. My undergrad career is over, and I'm starting at Wake Forest in 3 weeks. I've moved in with my brother, which is exciting. It also means I won't have to pay much for rent, which is nice with a $500 monthly stipend. I'm going to start budgeting more carefully, being more responsible, and weighing the effects of my actions. It's time for me to become an adult now that I've graduated. That means I need to be more careful with my money, be a better roommate, eat healthier, keep a regular exercise routine, read regularly, waste less time, and judge long term vs. short term rewards of my actions. Many of my actions are focused on the short term, and I need to think about the repercussions of what I do more carefully. Often instant gratification will lead to long term remorse for me. I hope that I am patient in my relationship with Emily, and we remain together long term. She's a good girl, and I'm grateful for her. Let's see how this whole being an adult thing goes. I hope that I become more responsible, knowledgeable, and mature. I need to focus on becoming a teacher and a valuable member of society.

It's hard for me to focus on this because the Bulls-Heat game is in an hour. I apologize for any redundancies in this post (to whoever stumbles upon this)...I didn't proofread.

Go Bulls!

Environment?

What does it mean to be a "product of your environment?" This is something I gave a lot of thought to this weekend. For this to have become such a popular aphorism is disappointing to me, because it enables the shifting of blame. I don't believe something can be a product of its environment, at least not when discussing humans. I don't mean to contend with this phrase to open up the dialectic of "nature versus nurture," but rather because I find it a huge cop-out to claim anyone can be a product of something. Granted, the environment one is raised in and decides to live in has a great impact on you. However, to claim you are a product is to lose any responsibility or accountability. Rather, I subscribe to the idea that you can be influenced by your environment, but never a product of it, which holds the implication that how you act was dictated by your situation, and not you yourself. I believe you can be "enabled by the environment," an equally pithy and catchy phrase (with more assonance too). What's the important distinction in diction here? A product of the environment is something that became the way it is because of its situation, which is out of its control. Something that is enabled by its environment, however, has the motives for action innately, but may struggle to suppress them because of its environment. This is a more realistic way of looking at people, and it demands higher accountability. I also find it interesting that bad actions are often attributed to being a product of environment, while good actions are human nature. I was a "product" of a good environment, yet I find myself delving into evil actions. By common theory, this is inexplicable. The only truth is that I reflect the depravity of man. Environments do not create us. They only enable us to see the true depths of our evil desires.


Other things on my mind that I will refrain from due to my looming 10 page paper:

-Is a win-win situation really just a lose-lose?

-Shouldn't it be birthdate, not birthday?

What Society Tells Me

Spurn me, society Spurn me the way i do myself Tell me how abhorrent i am Tell me what’s wrong with my life Tell me how i should be living Oh, God, all i ask for is some truth Somebody tell me I don’t want to hear about a lesser man There is no man lesser than me I don’t want comfort in the fact that i feel guilt My remorse shouldn’t provide solace All i know is I am the vilest of all creatures Why i am allowed to crawl the world, i don’t know Spreading my pandemic End me now, God I’m ready to go But only God knows And so Society will never spurn me

Compunction

Well, I have been away for a long time. I have decided to return so that I may wrestle with my own feelings right now. I am the perpetrator of the most egregious offense, one which I shall not reveal based on the public nature of this website. Not that it should matter, as anyone reading this is probably close and would keep good confidence. However, I digress.

I hate myself right now for the sin I have committed. But, worst of all, I have no solace right now. I have strayed so far from God during my life that I turn to Him in these situations, but it feels hollow because I have not bothered to build a real relationship with him. I have become morally repugnant slime, worthy for nothing but to burn in Hell. Of course, the sad realization is that as humans, we all are in that category. However, I have been made acutely aware by the recent events in my life. I thank God for His forgiveness, but need to rededicate my life. I have fallen down a slippery slope with flagrant disregard to the morals and standards I was raised with and uphold cognitively, but not in action. I want to rededicate my life, but I fear that this will only be a passing phase and that I won't dedicate the necessary time to change myself. Can I find restitution and return to my former self, who once delighted in God? Instead, I wallow in my sin here on Earth, scoffing at the truth I understand all too well - that there is more to life than the pleasures of this world. However, I continue to partake. And my actions have produced inequities that have inflicted pain on those I truly care for. Of course, there is no way to prove my loyalty to others when I have spat on their faces and crushed any semblance of closeness that once existed. I can only pray that the Lord on high will forgive me for my sins, and purge me of them. My fervent prayer is that God will place a desire in my heart to grow closer to Him, and begin to rectify these mistakes I have made. Lord, give my life new meaning and help me to live for You. I pray that you will make me good for you again. Help me, as I am helpless to helf myself.



Bury me with a threnody of vindication
A wayward man governed by sinful caprices
Creeping before the throne with trepidation
Knowing the virtues that I left in pieces
With utmost ignominy, lower my head
Prepare it for the guillotine
Palpable compunction turns to dread
As the God I ignored is now seen
The lowest of vermin, the scum of Earth
My sins are unremitting
The values once stockpiled are now a dearth
Yet God is still forgiving
I realize that I am the vilest of men
Who should be eternally condemned to Hell
And yet I am purged of all my sins
Undeserving mercy I know so well