Are We Learning Anything?
Influence and power are dependent on knowledge—sentience—and that is dependent on consciousness. Consciousness isn’t merely being awake, it’s a function of processing information. Hence, my German Shepherd is more “conscious” than a mouse because he can process more information faster than a mouse.
Some people are more conscious than others, able to process more information faster than others. This ability is hugely affected by education, learning, and nurturing. Yet we’re doing a lousy job providing an equal and excellent education for our children.
Our schools are mainly financed through local property taxes, assuring that wealthy communities (with higher taxes) have better facilities and teachers than poorer communities. We neither attempt to evaluate teachers’ competence, nor reward those who perform better than others, nor remove those who are incompetent (or worse). Excellent teachers often take some counseling courses or get an MA in order to get out of the classroom where they can earn more money and work with less interference as guidance counselors. “Mainstreaming” students with profound behavioral disorders further diminishes the learning environment for the majority. And I’ve not seen the teachers unions advance initiatives for their “customers” (parents and students) but solely for themselves.
If we can’t improve the educational quality and fairness in the wealthiest country on earth, worrying about climate, immigration, abortion, and terrorism is a waste of time.
