566 - If Not for The Man, Then for Whom? (Deschooling Society 6)

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Episode #566 - If Not for The Man, Then for Whom? (Deschooling Society 6)

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⌚ Sat 27 August 2011  ☻Erica Goldson, John Taylor Gatto, Ivan Illich (reading)

Download Hour1 Download Hour2This show anticipates a time when most people are not working for the man, but interacting through what Ivan Illich describes as 'Learning Webs'. We start with a US valedictorian, Erica Goldson's bold speech against the school machine, and the conclusion of the John Taylor Gatto interview. Then we read chapter 6 of Deschooling Society, Learning Webs, before concluding with some thoughts on how a decentralised money system might work.

We start our first hour with a 10 minute Valedictorian's speech from 2010 by Erica Goldson, from Youtube. She notes that fear permeates modern society and that schools perpetuate it by training children in obedience as a primary virtue, attempting to nullify their own potential as unique, creative spirits. Then we hear the remaining 20 minutes of the Gatto interview we've been serializing since episode 562. Gatto's closing points include the deliberate ploy of government to use the credit creation system to destroy small farms, so as to consolidate the food system into the hands of a few small players dependent on the continued favor of government, who could then be used to cow the general population.

Then we read the longest chapter of Deschooling Society, entitled "Learning Webs". Following his extensive critique of institutionally dominated school system, this is Illich's proposal for alternative means by which education could occur. Written 4 decades ago, his description of the technical aspects is remarkably close to the modern technology which brings you this webpage. Why then do certificates and formal qualifications continue to capture people's imaginations? Illich also expands on the pscyhological and social impacts which funnel people towards the hierarchical set of institutions which create their own demand.

This reading takes up most of the first and second hours, and we conclude with some remarks (inspired by a 2005 presentation) on how the person to person vision which Illich puts forward could be extended to replace the money system.
Thanks to Gnostic Media for the Gatto interview
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Source archive: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling (9 min) Erica Goldson 6. Learning Webs (75 min) Ivan Illich (Transcript available at http://www.unwelcomeguests.net/archive/audiobooks/Deschooling%20Society/Deschooling_Society_chapter6.html)

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