Re: Why not let kids be kids?

[Peter Campbell <campbellp@mail.montclair.edu>]

On Mar 18, 2008, at 8:15 AM, QCao009@aol.com wrote:

> After the last twenty  years of US
> regression after the fall of USSR, we may want to redefine an equal
> education opportunity and not let standards supporters further  
> continue the
> conformity push in the world.  May be China, cars and coke can tell  
> us  something about
> how we can think differently about education now if we are to   
> truly have a
> global economy.

I've been wondering what it would take to actually prepare children  
for the future. That's what we're talking about, isn't it?

The key driver for public education -- as it is currently framed --  
is to "compete in the global economy," i.e., beat the Chinese and the  
Indians at the game of global domination and "maintain our current  
high standard of living." Look at the speech of every major U.S.  
politician in the last 5 years -- with the exception of Kucinich and  
Nader -- and you'll see the meme "to compete in the global economy"  
or some version of "preparing our children for the 21st century  
economy" in every proclamation on the purpose of education.

But what if there were no global capitalist economy to compete in?

Here's a snippet from today's NY Times:

--snip--

Specialists say their biggest worry now is not whether the economy is  
already or will soon be in a recession. Far more fundamental and  
troubling is the health of the financial system that greases the  
wheels of capitalism.

“Recessions come and go — that is something investors can deal with,”  
said Marc D. Stern, chief investment officer at Bessemer Trust, an  
investment firm in New York. “The bigger issue is, Can our financial  
system be restored to a sense of normalcy? In recent weeks we have  
been moving away from that, which is potentially very serious.”

--snip--

Peter Campbell