RoR: Forum

My only complaint with the description of this book is that it says "we need a talent pool", "our country needs intelligent people"...

This whole mentality is so tenacious and insidious... What the hell does it matter what "the country" needs? Don't intelligent children have the right to be who they are, regardless of what the country or we need?

If the country had "too many" intelligent people, would you lobotomize the "surplus geniuses", just because their very existence didn't fit in with "the country's" master plan?

Human civilization has been truly corn-holed, ever since Socrates pussed out and was too scared to leave Athens, and said that "the individual owes his existence to the state" or some garbage like that, perhaps hoping to get a pardon from having to drink hemlock.

Ever since that one desperate act of perhaps understandable pandering to the goon squad, life for the person of integrity and rationality has too much been for $#!# in human societies.

Post 1

Thursday, July 8, 2004 - 8:11pm

"Leave no child behind" .... to which the corollary seems to be "and let none forge ahead".

Post 2

Friday, July 9, 2004 - 8:16am

Exactly!

That's all they do! They worship the normal curve! It's their golden calf!

The educational industry sees their sacred duty as getting everybody as close to the "sacred mean" as possible. They want the normal curve so tight and slender from non-deviation that it's a single line, pointing straight up.

If you're on the left side of the curve, they want to bring you to the right, toward the mean. And very often, they don't even do that! They just readjust the mean, continually towards the left, because the slackers won't budge under a molly-coddle system, because they quickly learn that they don't have to.

And ultimately, the ones who pay, are the ones to the right of the mean! They have to live an amputated, "iron maiden" kind of existence where they have to live in fear of ever being excellent.

Post 3

Friday, July 9, 2004 - 9:53am

The motto here in Canada is "Whack no child's behind, unless you want to have your children confiscated."

Post 4

Friday, July 9, 2004 - 10:58am

The way that I would handle my children considering rottenness as a life option, would be to let them know that I am considering turning them over to the state as my life option.

And if they thought that would be a neat idea, I'd have no reservations about granting them their wish, and only let the erstwhile little monsters come back crying and shaking, eyes wide with horror.

The best way to punish most people is to give them what they think they want.

Post 5

Monday, July 12, 2004 - 3:59pm

That would only work in the case of rational adults. Subject children to such treatment, & you'll just harm the development of their minds.

Showing children the effects of State-dependency in others, though, seems like a reasonable thing to do.

Post 6

Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 8:02pm