Minutes from Flight School: Alternative Education Systems:

EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA:

They have this thing called

Enterprise Education.

What they do is try and have kids actually teach all the content areas in terms of business, starting your own business, understanding businesses, and working in businesses. Kids have a virtual business where they work in different departments like, Marketing, Human Resources etc. They then get sent electricity bills and everything to simulate a real business.

• I don't like that. Education should be about exploring and learning. It's like this corporate model that NYU uses where students are the new products. How to make a dollar isn't what education is supposed to be about
• I like the self sustaining part where students actually get to see how it is to start their own businesses. Seems to give a practical nature to education, like students are actually learning something useful
• 
  

  I wonder what students think about this. Do they think it's practical?

• I think the effect of this depends on the nature of the system in which such a curriculum is implemented.
• If they did this in America it would be competitive and corporate. A commodifying nature.
• 
  

  A lot of education is becoming the tool of government - it plays into this whole world competition shit like where the US wants to increase its math and science capabilities not for the sake of children but because other countries do it better. That's not a good reason to do something.

• EDUCATION IN CHINA:

  In China their think of education more as
  

  "cultivation."

  It's a life long thing. The moment you talk to the moment you die you should be learning or cultivating

• There are other ways of learning or cultivation. It's not just academics. For example Martial arts

• EDUCATION ACCORDING TO THE UNITED NATIONS: UNICEF:

  They talked about how education is a human right and countries should increase access.

• The two things I really liked about the UNiCEF stance on education was that one, it should be a life-long process where adults are given access to education. We usually think of it only as something for kids.
• Another thing I liked about it was the idea that students should actually be taught about human rights and how they can go about acquiring it.

• HOMOSEXUALITY AND ISLAM:

  How can we open up discussion in homosexuality in Islam?
• One of the authors was okay with people not agreeing but respecting each other's opinion.
• The other person in the article was saying that Muslims should not have to fit into a world that is becoming more tolerant of homosexuals. They can learn about homosexuality but they shouldn't have to tolerate it.
• 
  

  There is a difference between teaching something and teaching about something.

  When you teach about something it's seeing something as outside from afar. but when you actually teach something, you want that student to want to do it. Like teaching honesty. You don't just teach about it, but you think students should also be honest. The first person in the article thinks they should teach homosexuality and also tolerance of it. Whereas the other one only wants to teach about it.

• I think you have to bring about discussions that make people uncomfortable. This challenges people so that they transcend to a truer understanding of things.
• 
  

  People put up walls because they're scared. Oppressive hierarchical religions or education come about because they're insecure. "What if I'm wrong... Oh shit!" So they keep opposing views out. Kinda like people who have to wear outer bling because they're insecure. They have to consistently prove their worth cause they're insecure.

• Then what if there's a kid in a class whose called fagot daily? Are you saying that he doesn't have a right not to be harassed?
• Correct.
• You have a right to a road to happiness, not a right to happiness itself.

• I think you have a right to religious education if that's what you choose for you or your kids, or have it subsidized if you leave the government funded educational system.

• EDUCATION IN GHANA:

  The promotion of nationalism was a big aspect of Ghanian education.

• I feel the author was very bitter being a white person and feeling blamed for colonialism. The author said that
  

  Ghanians use Liberalism as the new anti-colonialism

  whereby if Ghanians do well in school and are educated then they will be able to better compete in the international market and will not have rely on foreign loans and will not have to submit to conditions and the neo-colonialism of former colonial dependency."