Educating The People

Someone once said that regardless of his personal beliefs, he was eternally grateful that his servants believed in God because it kept them on the straight and narrow.

In a similar vein there are conspiracy theorists who believe that a population that lives in fear is easier to manipulate.

There was a time when ordinary people couldn't read or write, they couldn't recite kings of England, they couldn't point to a map and indicate where Paris was. It was enough that they could recite the Lord's prayer and fear god. They were cannon fodder in wars, they were used for their brawn and dexterity in their work. Spending money on expendable people was a waste. Their purpose was to increase the wealth of the rich. 

Then things changed. Business required people who could read and write and do basic calculations. Product labels needed reading, legers needed writing, products needed counting. Production targets needed calculating. Schedules had to be read and followed.

I come from a time when we did O'Levels (ordinary level) at Grammar school. At the comprehensive they sat CSEs (Certificate of School Education).They have been renamed and reworked and we call them GCSEs. That subtle change provided a measurement so both education streams were measured by the same scale.

The UK education system is in constant turmoil because successive governments are bullied by big business to add this and that into the curriculum because it is convenient within their own workforce.

Not long ago the government made it their aim to get more working class people into universities. Now educational thinkers are saying that a university degree is worth less than it used to be. Scarcity makes a commodity worth more.

How many people realise that intelligence or lack of it, is not bound to knowledge?

It does sound like a conspiracy when you think about it, but that can't be true because we're educated people. We're in charge of our own destinies. Aren't we?