(If
anyone didn’t get a change to read The
Making of a Counter Culture, Theodore Roszak discusses his perspective on
the generational paradigm in the U.S, as well as several other “first world” countries.
Roszak poses the question, why does a divide exist between complacent
middle-agers and hippy-daisy-youth? He claims that the heroes of our
technocratic hierarchy will be the few middle-agers who take young dissenters
under their wing...)
To get to the point...
I am particularly interested in Roszak’s discussion of the
educational system and how it ties into a technocratic-mesmerized society.
In chapter 1, Technocracy’s
Children, Roszak says, “...in England, Germany, and France the most
troublesome students are those who have swelled the numbers in humanities and
social studies only to discover that what the society really wants out of its
schools is technicians, not philosophers.” Public figures in Britain “loudly
observe” that their “country is not spending its money to produce poets...yet
at the same time, these non-technicians know that the society cannot do without
its universities” because the “universities produce the brains the technocracy needs.”
(29)
à Basically, the economy thrives off of technocracy, and breeding more people to contribute
to technological industries is essential.
This reminds me
of a recent CPR broadcast, “The
Job Creators.” One of the panelists is the CEO of NIMBL (a Denver software
company) and he explains that his company has a partnership with Metro State
College. Basically, his company provides “canned” curriculum to the classes so
that students can learn the skill sets that “they will need.”
(If you don’t want to listen to the entire panel, the conversation
I’m referencing is towards the second half).
How do you think this partnership will affect classes (if it does at all)? As a student, how do you feel about classes being designed by local
(or national) businesses to teach skills their industries need? Do you
think that other information or skills are being compromised in this arrangement? Or is this a step in the right direction?
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