Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Banning Schools a Dangerous Idea?

Perhaps it shouldn't come as a great surprise that the Telegraph article about the recent Edge Question is headlined with Roger Schank's answer. The question, which was posed this year by Steven Pinker and was answered by some 119 scientists, including the likes of Craig Venter, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Paul Davies, Matt Ridley and Frank Tipler, was "What is Your Dangerous Idea?

Roger Schank, psychologist, computer scientist and chief learning officer replied "Schools should simply cease to exist as we know them."

Perhaps it is the case that the writers at the Telegraph really do think this the most dangerous idea of the lot. It would make a good deal of sense in that quite a number of Conservatives ascribe, at least in principle, to the idea of the free market and a small state, but all the while they refuse to contemplate the idea that you could do anything other than bully kids into submission in horrible institutions called schools (preferably boarding ones).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it's a wonderful idea. But more than schools, the idea of compulsory education for children, the belief of childhood as the educational stage, that is what has to be banned.

Carlotta said...

Yep, Lol...that certainly would be a good one!, though I guess I'd be happy for the mo with the end of compulsory schooling...

Anonymous said...

Well, I was thinking...

Some schools might be better than some parents. Developing countries seem not to have better alternatives, as developed countries do.