What Education Points To

This entry will likely evolve as it sits there. I just had to post the topic, which I'd like to develop further.

Aristotle, one of the greatest thinkers ever, had his finger right on the pulse of life when he wrote:

No one will doubt that the legislator should direct his attention above all to the education of youth; for the neglect of education does harm to the constitution. The citizen should be moulded to suit the form of government under which he lives. For each government has a peculiar character which originally formed and which continues to preserve it. The character of democracy creates democracy, and the character of oligarchy creates oligarchy; and always the better the better character, the better the government. --Politics, 1337a10-16

In other words, teach your children into the state. If you want to see what a state is really up to, don't look at the overt workings - this may well be misleading - rather, look at the schools. I think it would give a far more accurate reading, if only we read it with clear eyes.

What are they doing in the schools of the most powerful nation in the world? If you know, please drop me a line. I'm currently on another continent, so it's hard to tell. I've got my ideas, but prefer to chew on them for a little while...

Statistics aren't everything, but they are a good indicator of performance (provided they don't get twisted to an agenda). According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the leading scorers tend to come from Japan, Korea, and Finland. The U.S. clocks in around the middle. Of course it isn't a simple matter, but one cannot help questioning why this is. And I can't help asking - to what purpose are students in various countries educated? This does not show up on any standardized test; it calls for deeper study.