Education needs separation from state

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for August 7, 2019)

Once again we approach that saddest time of the year: when the majority of parents send their kids back to school; back into the local government concentration day-camps.

If you're someone who mistakes schooling for education you probably believe this is good.

School is a socialist babysitting system funded by your neighbors. If you're OK with forcing others to fund things you want then go ahead and support the government schools. I can't support socialism.

Schooling is also a system where organized bullying is cheered while the freelance competition, provided by the victims' peers, is officially frowned upon. I oppose all bullying.

I'm not saying education doesn't happen in schools, but when it does it's in spite of the schooling, not because of it. Kids are automatic learning machines and it's almost impossible to short-circuit their hunger to learn. They'll usually manage to learn everything they need to know, and more, even under the worst conditions. The fact that many people still believe schools educate-- because kids come out knowing more than they knew when they went in-- is evidence of this.

The real goal of schooling is to train kids to be useful, and not too dangerous, to politicians. Don't question too much, and only within approved boundaries. Sit down, be quiet, obey the bells, and be force-fed authoritarian propaganda.

This style of training-- called the Prussian Model, after the country America copied-- creates adults who are unlikely to break free from this early indoctrination and will largely comply with arbitrary orders from politicians and their attack dogs. This is very useful to governments and is why governments everywhere want to control schooling. They use the unsupportable claim "it's for the children"; if they can also fool the adult population into believing it's about education it works even better.

This isn't to say the teachers are bad. Most have good intentions, they are just saddled with a toxic system. A system which shouldn't exist. The teachers are victims almost as much as the under-aged inmates, but at least they get paid.

There are good teachers, but there are no good schools. If this claim angers you, congratulations-- you are showing symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome, where captives (and former captives) begin to relate to their captors, even taking their side, defending them from criticism. Stockholm Syndrome makes people loyal to "their" school.

My appreciation for education explains my opposition to schooling. It is essential to separate education from the state before the damage is irreversible.

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