Who wants a shot of E & J? by: Damien Barner
Let's begin with the first intoxicant, the westernized style of the North American dispensation of education. This style comprises of a public system and a private sector. In either case the word education is a misnomer when it comes to describing what is actually happening in the classroom. The word, educate, derives from the Latin "educatus", which means "to bring out of". In the western format of teaching information is put into the student, rather than brought out of them, and then they are expected to memorize and regurgitate the information on command. A true understanding cannot be attained in this manner.
For some it may be difficult to conceive of any other way of teaching, since this is the most common way known to westernized societies (* by "westernized societies" I mean any society that follows the above mode of teaching as a result of having adopted a Eurocentric way of living. Thus, the geographic location of a society holds no bearing in regard to this nomenclature). As stated earlier, a true education comes from within. Now, you may be asking, "But how can one learn something without being told what there is to be known?".
In ancient Greece there was adopted what is known as the Socratic Method (a method Socrates learned as a pupil of the even more ancient Khemetian school system). This method of teaching involves questioning the student in a way that they are able to answer due to dormant ideas resting in the storehouse of the mind. The student then realizes that they already possessed some degree of knowledge due to things experienced in their life. All that must be had is the basic fundamentals of knowledge. All other knowledge are just branches stemming from the fundamental trunk. The mind never loses information. It's just the process of re-membering the disassembled bits of information that is difficult. This is because most people don't have a mnemonic system (or mental filing cabinet) to make information readily accessible.
Public schooling tends to be the "bottom of the barrel", like many other things that are provided for public consumption (e.g., public housing; a public defender; welfare; and other forms of public assistance). It is the "spam" or "bologna" of education, as far as mental food is concerned. It is enough to keep you living for the purpose of being useful toward another's success, but it lacks the nutritional value that will help you develop a self-sufficient lifestyle. The cause of this is the fallacy of the curriculum that is set forth which is to teach the student what to think, but not how to think.
Therefore, although intelligence may be gained, genius is rarely produced. The distinction made here is that the intelligent one has accumulated a lot of information, while the genius has found ways to utilize this information in the many facets of life to achieve a desired end. He or she has become a true alchemist. This is what causes the separation between the "have" and "have not"; the employer and employee; the owner and renter; the creditor and debtor; the master and slave.
Unfortunately, even the quality of public schooling varies in degrees according to the community that a particular school is situated in. Whenever a census is conducted in a community a certain amount of funding is made available according to the amount of tax dollars it receives from that particular community. Thus, a community that consists of residents earning a middle to high class income will have better quality schooling than a low income community that has a large portion of its residents as recipients of public assistance, which is a drain on tax dollars. In the latter case, a trickle in tax revenue would affect the furnishing of the school, to include lighting, plumbing, text books (that are usually old, worn, and out of date), curriculum, and the overall quality of so-called education.
In the civil case of San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1 (1973), parents of children who attended a San Antonio school district filed a class action suit challenging the practice of financing schools based on the local property taxes paid within their district, claiming that it caused a major disparity among school districts of different economic classes. Although the federal district court found in favor of the parents, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision based on the grounds that Texas was providing a free basic education to every child and therefore was not discriminating against any class of persons, and since the U.S. Constitution was silent regarding a person's right to an education there was no existing violation of any Constitutional right nor liberal interest. According to U.S. law it seems that all that is required is the bear minimum, no matter the psychological affect it may have on the youth. This is a stark difference from the laws and beliefs of the ancient Khemetians who understood education and health care as an essential human and divine right which should not be hindered or limited in any way. Paramount of all education was to "rech-i em ab-i" ("know by the heart or mind"). The Knowledge of Self.
In the private sector, funds used towards furniture and supplies are accumulated by tuitions paid by the families, and donations from special interest groups or organizations. These families are usually of an affluent background, so the tuition paid is in exchange for the security of a safe learning environment, good quality teaching, and the potential for scholarships toward a higher level of learning. In the private setting students are taught more so how to think, as opposed to what to think, to prepare them to leaders and bosses in society. Speaking briefly on charter schools, they are essentially private, receiving funding from both private donations, and government grants.
The point to be made here is that at the low public school level a youth's destiny is prescribed; that is until an exceptional student is motivated to achieve more than he average, although the circumstances behind such an accomplishment is so much of an anomaly that it is rarely manifested. It is as if ingenuity should be an expected trait among children, or that there are those who are exceptionally gifted by some mysterious means. Genius is not acquired by luck, nor is it bestowed by divine appointment. It is a matter of cause and effect. Genius is developed through experience, and the freedom of thought. If the experience of "how to think" is afforded to students of low income public schools, and the idea of giving back and developing the community is taught, then perhaps there would be fewer lower income public schools.
People are the chief resource of a community, and if good quality students leave an move on to higher income communities without giving back to reform thier community of origin, then what is the low income community left with? Sure it has the prestige of graduating a star pupil, but this does nothing for its deplorable condition nor the future rearing of the next up and coming student body. It is the attitude of "Ha! Ha! I made it out. I got mine. Now y'all try to get your butts out of there!" The one who succeeds often feels as though they have no responsibility in the reformation if their community, so they abandon all those left behind. This forms somewhat of an inevitable caste system, where those of a low income background stay in the position of the preceding generation. Simply put, love for your fellow man is not part of the curriculum. With that being said, "bottoms up"! Ankh-Nekti! Hetep! Spread the Word!
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