[email protected]

In a message dated 5/31/2004 6:41:45 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
moonwindstarsky@... writes:
Those who are free have a right to a public education; then why do
they force it on people?
===================

These are the justifications I have come across in the college of education
or other reading:

For the good of society. That's one line of reasoning. A literate populace
makes, theoretically, a better democracy.

For the good of children, who have in some times and places been kept home by
fathers who made them work, or by mothers who had no other means of support
and prevented children from going to school so they could help at home.

For the good of girls, so that they're not relegated to having to marry or
become domestic servants (in the days that was a good argument; "domestic
workers" now) in order to survive.

To enculturate immigrants, so that they understood the predominant culture
and the official language.

To thwart those who would exploit children; to protect children from child
labor exploitation (which was a really horrible problem at one time, and lots of
younger people seem totally unaware of it ever having happened).

To encourage citizenship, nobility of character and other virtues necessary
for a civilized society.

To educate people in civics so that they can participate fully and know their
own in local, state and federal rights and duties.

--------------

Huh.
I didn't think I'd come up with that many off the top of my head.

Sandra


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Jennifer Altenbach

<<<Those who are free have a right to a public education; then why do
they force it on people?>>>

Dangit, I loaned my copy of De-schooling our Lives to someone and I
can't remember who it was, but wasn't there an essay in there about how
compulsory schooling started in Europe (Germany?) as a way to facilitate
the creation of a military? Am I imagining things? Forgive me, but
I've been sick for a week and have a splitting headache so I might not
be thinking clearly, but some bells are ringing off in the distance.
Jenny
.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

geocities.com/moonwindstarsky

The Prussian government created a military school system. There's
more links here www.geocities.com/moonwindstarsky/lifestyle I think
it was created for control.

--- In [email protected], "Jennifer Altenbach"
<salten@c...> wrote:
>
wasn't there an essay in there about how
> compulsory schooling started in Europe (Germany?) as a way to
facilitate
> the creation of a military? Am I imagining things?
> Jenny