-> Illich seems to feel that the existing educational structure
-> has a hidden agenda or curriculum: That learning can only
-> happen in school.  I disagree; while "schools" do not
-> disabuse this notion, neither do they actively foster it.
-> It is simply a misconception that people, in general, have;
This is well put, and I agree.
There have been many times that students have posted here, complaining
about what they were learning in school, complaining it was useless,
boring, whatever. Didn't we write to them and tell them that they could
take the initiative and learn other things on their own? We suggested
they visit libraries or talk to their teacher about independent work. I
distinctly remember conversations of this type here in the past.
I've learned things on my own outside of school. While there is a
tendency for many to assume that you can only learn what you are taught
in school, this is not some brainwashing agenda on the part of the
school system. As a matter of fact, in today's age with more and more
information being accumulated every day, I thought that it was becoming
more and more the thing for teachers to teach students where to look and
how to find things out for themselves. There's absolutely no way for
teachers to teach students everything by the time they are of age to
leave the school system. There's too much to learn.
-> ...for a person trained as a cleric. Their focus is not on the
-> here-and-now in the FIRST place,
-> and is MUCH more concerned with the individual, soul, and
-> what comes after for the INDIVIDUAL (I'm speaking mainly of
-> the Christian view here, as Illich is/was a priest).  On the
-> contrary, society is concerned about the good of the whole,
-> and what happens to the SOCIETY after...
I'm not sure that you can simplify the Christian point of view to be
focussed on the individual instead of society. I believe that it is
mostly a result of my Christian upbringing that I feel the
responsibility to others in society during our temporal existence.
Sheila
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