Self-knowledge is the only basis of true knowledge - Day 415

This blog opened up for me when I watched the documentaries:

Waiting for Superman - http://vimeo.com/20095459

The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLmXV4-CBOQ

 

Initially, when I watched the documentary 'Waiting for Superman' I was within myself blaming the US Education system for locking in to the schooling system ineffective teachers . This is done  by law, wherein so long as a teacher taught for 3 years, the teacher is protected by the system regardless of their effectiveness, their willingness to empower students or having effective teaching skills. Within that, the primary point the documentary was glorifying was that the problem isn't for instance poverty or lack of resources, the problem is the quality of the teachers.

What  I momentarily missed when I watched the documentary was the level of the brainwashing the documentary consists of meaning - the examples that were shared created emotional disposition within myself to a point of almost believing that the teachers are to blame. This is how brainwashing works - creating a specific emotional disposition that those who don't have the tools to question what they are exposed to, immediately go into the point of belief that what they were exposed to is the ultimate truth. Unfortunately, none of us were taught to develop these skills to step beyond our emotional states and actually investigate all dimensions/perspective/research to see the source of the actual problem to be able to find the solution that would manifest the best for all results.

 

Then, the documentary presented a "solution" and the solution was a charter schools where the quality of the teachers is high as well as the level of dedication, motivation and resources. within myself, I was quiet satisfied that the charter school exist in the US as I for a moment, I believed it gives some children a chance to find their true potential in a life of extreme inequality. Looking at myself from an observer eye's view - I was an automated robot that took in the information without investigating what the documentary is all about.  And, it is again another example of how  brainwashing  works wherein I allowed my emotional disposition being the directive principle within a specific moment without questioning the source, the starting point of the documentary.

 

Fortunately, the next documentary that came up on Google was "The Inconvenient truth Behind waiting for Superman" which assisted and supported me to see how easily I was drawn into blame and frustration instead of literally investigating all things and keep the solution that is best for all. In this documentary, it was shown that stats regarding the charter schools success for instance, can be easily manipulated to show what the mass wants to see while the physical evidence shows different results ; It showed who is behind the 'waiting for superman' documentary and how it was for their benefits. It showed the lack of support the teachers have in being able to empower themselves, enhance their teaching skills and to become the best that they can be within the process of educating the students across America.

 

I'm not saying that what the ' Inconvenient truth Behind waiting for Superman' documentary is now the truth, what I'm saying is that there are many layers and dimension one must investigate  before coming to the conclusion that something is the truth. I'm using the 'waiting for superman' documentaries to show that we must always investigate and questioning the information we are exposed to and to within that, assist and support ourselves to step out of the emotional mind behavior to be able to effectively process the information and to see the greater pictures within the ocean of information that is available.

 

Our education system simply does not support the development of effective human beings that has what it takes to be able to question and investigate information but instead, our education system support submissive behavior of the mass through a long process of dumbing us down to maintain and sustain the status-quo as it exists today.

For more context, I suggest listen to GET YOUR KIDS OUT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL NOW!!!! by John Taylor Gatto.

 

This is why, the solution is 'Self-Knowledge' as in Man know thyself - and within that context, to start developing the skills to questions not only the system but to start with ourselves as this system is just an external manifestation of that which we have accepted and allowed within and as ourselves.

it is about SELF and developing the skills do question the inner self and the outer self meaning - as within so without - we have created this system as our image and likeness and thus, it will be us who can change the system into a system that honor LIFE. as with everything, it start with our own self-introspection, self-investigation, self-questioning and thus self-knowledge to understand our responsibility within it all, to stop blaming everything and everyone and to instead of  focusing on the problems, to focus on the solutions.

Early Childhood Development is a KEY - Day 414

Reading through many of the researches done on Early Childhood Development, it is clear that the secret of effective growth of a child is directly dependent on the Child's first 7 years. It was found for instance in a study by Megan McClelland of Oregon State University and her colleagues, that children who have high level of attention span-persistence (the ability to focus, attend to relevant information, and persist on a task) at age 4, had 48.7% greater odds of completing college at age 25.

 

Research done by Dr. Bartik where he was investigating the relationship between economic development benefits of universal, high-quality preschool education compared to traditional business incentives of the same cost and he have found that for instance each $1 invested in universal preschool education is estimated to increase the:

• present value of earnings in the state by almost $3
• present value of earnings in the nation by almost $4

 

 

http://www.upjohninst.org/sites/default/files/images/misc/earlychildhoodprograms.pdf

 

Mr. James Heckman, one of the top economists studying human development stated that "investment in the early education of disadvantaged children pays extremely high returns down the road. It improves not only their cognitive abilities but also crucial behavioral traits like sociability, motivation and self-esteem."

 

There are enormous amount of studies that showed the importance of early childhood development in terms of how educating a child from birth would manifest results that would not only be for the self-growth and self empowerment of the child but also how economically it would benefit the nations as a whole.  So given the ever-growing evidence on the economic benefits of early childhood education and the prevention of future problems within the child's life, one might think that policymakers would do what ever is possible to enhance programs and allocate the funds and yet, it is not the case. In fact, according to the National Institute of Early Education Research, the funding for early childhood programs are declining.

Obviously this doesn't make sense - if specialized economists can prove that investment in early childhood programs would lead to increase of profit/benefits to the nations and if specialized psychologists and psychiatrists proves that early childhood program can prevent and/or decrease future problems in character building, why is it that the funds are not directly allocated to these programs? And why is it that early childhood development is not a priority?

 

 

 

 

This takes me back to John Taylor Gatto and his extensive research showing the deliberateness in dumbing down our children and within that, what was the motive in doing so and who benefit from it  - within Gatto's words lies the answer as to why early childhood development is not a priority for those who make and execute the decisions from high above.

 

So, for those of you who are not yet aware the history of the schooling system and the process of dumbing down the children and thus humanity as a whole, I suggest listen to the greatest history lesson and to also read the book Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory ‎Schooling.

 

Realize the extent of the problem and how this influence our lives as a whole as only through understanding the problem, we can see the solution. Unfortunately, the solution will not come from those in the current sits - the solution can only come from us, the dumb, the mass, through a correction of our own education that was infused and integrated within and as us through years of corruption. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves and thereafter our children within the understanding that the first 7 years of their life will determine who they are for the rest of their life. In this, we can not wait until it is too late - we must act now, we must educate ourselves now, we must take responsibility now.