Blog Archive

Monday 7 March 2011

Some of the System As I See It



Educational Systems teach us to be subordinate and to think inside the box, not to challenge the status quo and to stick to current paradigms.

I vaguely remember mention of ancient philosophers during my early years in school. There was mention of philosophers such as Pythagoras, but we never delved into their teachings. I understand that many will say that these teachings will take a lifetime to understand, but why not introduce us to the deeper concepts of our reality at an early age? There is so much to learn from ancient philosophers, mathematicians and spiritual teachers.

It would be logical that the first subject taught is language, and what follows are the main subjects that form our life and our universe: mathematics (complete mathematics including all subsets, as well as music), philosophy and spirituality. All other subjects can stem from those 3. All forms of science have come from those three subjects...

Of course it is essential that we teach geography, but not in a way that implies that we are separate because of our borders, flags and languages that were all created by men. Geography needs to be taught in a manner that enables and promotes interconnectedness and not separation. I haven’t totally figured this out yet. We could use the technology we have to connect our students, I know this is already being done, but I do not think it has reached its potential. I’m also reluctant towards the idea of patriotism to one nation and flag; I believe all this does is create separation and alienation towards other nations. Your sense of belonging should not be based on a nation, it IS based on a species; the living species, and not just the human species…This is something that needs to be thought of as well. What are your views on that?


I have checked out some high school websites in the area, and have been pleasantly surprised to see that some of them have created what they call spiritual centers for meditation, with information about different religions and spiritual practices. This is great, but is it enough? Do students participate? Is our society promoting spirituality in the media or even at home? Not that I know of…Some families promote religious belief, and this is their choice, are they also promoting acceptance of other religions and spiritual practices? What about the ones who ignore any such practice? We have lost our true potential to become more than what they have taught us to be. I believe that this can only be cured through spiritual practices and acceptance; we need to promote it and explain the benefits that will come out of a spiritual practice. Our society needs to be re-programmed to understand the importance of spirituality. With it come morality, ethics and healthy lifestyles.

We teach our children mathematics but do we tell them what importance it holds in everyday life? Do we bother explaining to them that the whole universe is made up of mathematics? Do we explain to them that all the music they hear is based on math? Do we explain that through the understanding of mathematics we can understand the building blocks of our universe? NO. We don’t, and I believe if we did emphasize the importance that I just mentioned, more students would be interested in absorbing all that is taught to them when it comes to the subject.

I remember having conversations with friends in school about how useless the things we learn can be, and I still have conversations with people now who mention to me that they have learned more by themselves than they have learned at school…

Teachers rarely tell students why they are learning a certain subject, they just say that they need to do their homework, study for tests, and pass the class or else they will fail and if they fail they are failures and may have to do it over and over again until they pass the tests and do all the homework…no reason as to why, just do it and that’s that….really? Where’s the motivation in that? What are we teaching our children? To comply and not to ask why they are complying…that’s sad, and that’s why most of us do things without even knowing why we do it…simply to put food on the table? Really? And how are you accomplishing this? Is the means important? Is it morally responsible and logical to live on an island of happiness surrounded by an ocean of misery? Will the ocean eventually flood the island? We don’t ask these questions because we are taught not to…

Challenge the status quo only if it doesn’t challenge the authority. Ha! How does that make any sense? That is what I call illogical.
The educational system does not allow for students to be creative and to think outside the current system. Unless the students are in luck, and the teacher is awake, but in most cases a teacher who is awake will not be able to get away with much, and they are the minority.

We teach our doctors how to prescribe medicine, but do we teach them how to prevent certain conditions? It’s all about solving the issue after it occurs and never about preventative measures. It’s all about bandaging the issue and never about permanently curing it. We teach in school the basic food groups, but do we teach how difficult it is for our digestive systems to break down red meat? We promote the consumption of certain foods because of the industry that already exists, regardless of discoveries of the negative effects these foods have on us. We lack something very important in our education systems, LOGIC. We teach based on a set of guidelines implemented by our government, always to promote the current system, to uphold the current paradigm. We never explain the logic behind a certain teaching. We never explain why it is important to learn a certain subject. We only teach and expect the student to learn what we are teaching, regardless of the importance that it holds in everyday life. Our expectations are based on the belief that if you pass a test, you understand the subject. This is ridiculous, I know countless people who have breezed through high school by memorizing and sometimes even cheating…none of these people learned anything. They claim to understand, mainly because they passed a test, but like a Rasta friend of mine says, “Do they overstand?”…no, they do not…it’s an illusion of understanding based on what authority tells you to understand.

Very interesting concept and I totally agree, look at the definition of overstand taken from the Urban Dictionary: The Distinction between Overstanding and Understanding is a matter of "authority". If you can use something or do a job, you understand and memorize enough to act. In order to innovate or redesign, you must overstand. Understanding can Drive the car, but Overstanding Builds it, (or replaces it with something better). The difference between Under and Over standing is the difference between Oper-ating and Cre-ating. Understanding does the Job, Overstanding wrote the Business Plan. It is similar to the distinction between Academic "Knowledge" and Experiential "Wisdom". Overstanding emerged as a word from the global hip hop culture, to help portray an ethic of entrepreneurialism, self sufficiency, and sustainability.
"Overstand the Definition, then write your own."
I studied political science, and the job that I do now has absolutely nothing to do with political science…I’m an electronics technical specialist and trainer. Never went to school a day in my life in electrical or mechanical engineering yet my job is based on those principles. I work alongside other technologists and engineers, and somehow, I am able to keep up…actually, because I didn’t learn what I know through a book written by a pompous engineer, I have an easier time thinking outside the box, and solving issues that others cannot solve because of the set system that runs their mind…I am living proof that learning based on a set of standards and principles can be extremely limiting, and learning as you learn, learning with your hands on allows you to train your mind to do things that most people would otherwise think impossible….this is the beauty of true learning…Overstanding…I must admit, if I overstood the importance of Mathematics when I was a young teenager, I probably would have taken it upon myself to learn more than I have, and I would be creating technologies that have not been created yet…guaranteed…our students rarely want to learn because they do not see the importance, and it is because we are not showing them the importance. We allow ourselves to take everything for granted…and we teach them to take everything for granted as well, perpetuating the system.

Do any of you know how to grow your own food? Do any of you know which herbs can alleviate pain or benefit the human body? We’re lead to believe that a human being cannot learn everything in one lifetime. Is it possible that our potential for learning is much greater than we have been moulded to believe? I’ll leave it up to you to answer that….

Don’t get me wrong, there are many people out there who are awake and who take it upon themselves to learn more. There are many who consider themselves to be autodidacts, and many of them have accomplished a hell of a lot.

Here, let’s just name a few autodidacts whose accomplishments were outstanding:

Leonardo De Vinci
Albert Einstein
Nikola Tesla
Malcolm X
Abraham Lincoln
Maya Angelou
Alexander Graham Bell
Quentin Tarantino
Thomas Edison
Paul Allen
Bill Gates

These are just a few…the list goes on and on…what does this prove? Well, it proves that the current educational system rarely pumps out any geniuses’, it only perpetuates the total system that has been built upon the conditioning of our minds…that’s all for now J

With Love


S

8 comments:

  1. Did you know that in China there are doctors who believe its their job to keep you healthy(obviously) ...so any month that you are healthy you pay them any month that you not you dont ..its their job to get you healthy again so they can get paid. Funny how they get rich when your healthy not sick..

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  2. yes, that is health care...they care that you are healthy, they are not in cahoots with the drug dealers as many are in the health "care" system in our country and others as well...China has always been known for natural health care, REAL health care, making sure that they treat the root cause rather than just patching it up by perscribing painkillers and other forms of "medicine"...eastern medicine is REAL medicine...

    Thank you for the comment rsfishy, It's refreshing to know that other souls are awake and others are awakening :)

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  3. Loved it! Speaking of learning/education, check out Sir Ken Robinson (Ted talks, youtube, etc.) He speaks about how traditional education/schools kill creativity... not a plus in my mind!

    Keep writing/sharing. I enjoyed hearing your thoughts :-)

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  4. Habibi;
    Lots of things to make me think here. I agree that kids can learn even the deeper stuff at a younger age. They can handle so much stuff....

    I think that there is some value in Nationalism, but that being said, while we share commonality with our fellow countrymen, it is foremost and should be taught from the get go that we are all the same to begin with. Some have more, some have less, but essentially, we are no better than any other living human being. And while we are at it, those of us who are fortunate enough not only to be able to eat 3 times a day, but who have more than the basic requirements should really think of ourselves as fortunate and share with those who don't have daily meals....

    And finally, in Quebec, the new reform seeks to introduce other religions and cultures in schools as part of regular learning so that our kids will learn more about other beliefs and hopefully, this will lead to tolerance of all religious and cultural beliefs. Love the blog!

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  5. We are all waking up. This is great!! Keep on posting and we'll keep on reading!!

    and remember that the only way to change things is to broadcast our messages as far as possible!!! I will share this!

    Namaste

    Alexei

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  6. Dina,just watched the Sir Ken Robinson TED talk...wow, agreed...couldnt have said it better...

    Any suggestions are appreciated :)

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  7. Laurence, thank you for the comment, and I agree with your comment. But there is one thing that I must say...the people who are in need, the ones who are not fortunate and who do not have their 3 daily meals, are only in that position because WE allowed it to get to that...we are all responsible for each other. When a man accumulates riches and material gain by means of oppression and injustice, it is our responsibility to call him out, to stop him from taking advantage of those less fortunate...the problem is, we don't do or say enough, we allow it to happen. Lately, I have seen beautiful people standing up for their freedoms, less fortunate people raising their voices, and this is just the beginning...when people like you and I stand beside those who we call less fortunate, nothing can stop the force of light that will shine in the darkness...this is where we are headed, and I am grateful to be here to witness it :)

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  8. Alexei,

    thank you for your kind words :)

    Namaste

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