Why is it that we stick so much to “the man?” It’s almost ironic. We stick certain things to the man because we enjoy voicing our disgruntledness. And I suppose it gives us some sort of empowerment buzz. But aren’t our disgruntled voices attributing too much to this proverbial man? Hence the inevitable irony. Folks in firm opposition to the system end up only adding to its mystique, like Republicans who publish books against Bill Clinton.
I would guess this tirade is coming from my French student, who isn’t really digging deep into this great language. I shouldn’t really expect someone who’s 15 to act like I *sometimes* did in college, but all the same, I’ve definitely taken my student as an example and extrapolated in my mind to form new theories about society and “the man.” I hereby posit that our society has begun to assume that learning simply happens: a rigid, constructivist imposition by the man himself upon passive and unsuspecting citizens. Suddenly, THE MAN is responsible for LEARNING, a substantive, organic, and participatory event that I thought happened outside of the pervasive system.
Far from making opportunities to learn available to a broader range of our population, something about free public education (or somethign about the educators) has instead dumbed down or debased our students until they simply expect learning to happen to them. And then we hear the complaints of students and the parents who love them concerning the school system, the teachers, the curriculum, the government, in short, the man. Nevermind the fact that these underperforming students might be the primary culprits for, well, underperformance. It must be the man! Forgive me if I can’t explain the logic of the thing. I really don’t get it.
...forget the fact that my student is homeschooled. Shoot! Somebody rescue my theory!!
Posted by nickles at August 19, 2004 08:18 PMNot that hard, actually. The fact that your particular student is homeschooled doesn't exempt him from the cultural atmosphere in which he exists, unless he's completely and totally isolated from the outside world. But then he'd have his own set of issues, like being from another planet.
I think your theory is a sub-theory under the general culture of victimhood. It's always got to be somebody's fault, but it sure as hell isn't mine. Must be the man. Homeschoolers have no inherent immunity to this kind of thinking, believe me.
Now, in all fairness, teachers' unions have spent a long time trying to dilute public school curriculums. I think this is so that most of the people who graduate from these instutitions will be too stupid and too easily manipulated to realize they're getting shafted. Liberals love the public schools for exactly this reason: uneducated people are easy to use. You want an example of elites oppressing the downtrodden, you got it. The Democratic party consists largely of highly educated though not particularly wealthy elites, their enforcers - unions and special interest groups - and the masses of unsuspecting innocents they abuse. Conspiracy? No, not really. Just pretty damn convenient is all.
Posted by: ryan at August 20, 2004 05:45 AMOh, I get it Ryan... that's why the Democrats have been pushing for better public education all these years. That's why Republicans consistantly cut funding for schools, like in Hamilton county, for instance. Or why Bush instituted that ridiculous No Child Left Behind Act.
Needless to say, I find a few holes in your argument. However, Bob, I think you've got a good point, and Ryan too. The "persecution complex" is all to evident in institutions of higher learning in particular, and in the world at large.
I think it's the man's fault, probably. ;-)
Posted by: KornSt@r at August 20, 2004 01:54 PMHmm....
I have a Republican and a Democrat commenting on my blog. My traditional Republican parents taught me that Republicans are more likely to "stick it to the man," while Democrats are pro-man (man meaning big government). But you know what, the man can actually do a lot of good for folks. And instead of sticking it to him on the No Child Left Behind front, maybe Republicans should help him do a better job by increasing his budget instead of threatening him with private school vouchers.
And maybe Democrats should think about holistic education options and start building voucher-friendly bridges instead of burning them just for the sake of being anti-Republican.
Maybe I should leave the man alone, on second thought. It's a convenient metaphor for expressing all that's unjust for the little guy! Here's to the man. Without him, blogging just wouldn't be this much fun!
Posted by: bob at August 21, 2004 03:28 PM