Chapter 6: The Greatest Resource — Education

I'm not sure if this is everything, but here are some thoughts from Mike on chapter 6 that he sent to me by email. There may be more to this reflection shortly...
___________________________________________________

"When people ask for education they normally mean something more than mere training, something more than mere knowledge of facts, and something more than a mere diversion" (p. 77)

This stuck out more than anything else in the book because it made me think that maybe education is not an abundant resource. What is education? Some define education and school as having different meanings to different socio-economic groups. Poor people look to education as an abstract concept, that doesn't really matter. The middle class looks to education as the beginning of hard work that will eventually pay off. Rich people look to education as a means to connect with other people, to maintain social bonds.

I think Schumacher is taking a perspective that fits most with the lower or middle class.

Unfortunately though this quote is representative of our current educational system. Students go through the 'drill and kill' practice that accompanies the math and reading subjects, those subjects that have the most federal dollars.

Central convictions...

-Mike