LTUE 2016 Panel - Education In Culture

This is one of the panels that I probably feel most comfortable with as far as the subject matter goes. It’s also more interesting to me than some of the others. But I’ll be moderating rather than participating on this one. So if for some reason you want to hear more of my thoughts on this subject, you’ll have to search me out and talk to me outside of the panel.

Seed Questions

Q - What kinds of education are there, besides the modern school system—e.g., apprenticeships?
A - When talking about education systems, there are two primary types. Formal, and informal. Formal education is when the teacher(s) and student(s) both understand the relationship. It’s usually structured in a way that the student knows that they should be learning and the teacher knows they should be teaching. Apprenticeships fall into this category, as does the modern school system.

Informal education occurs outside of a structured environment. It’s not necessarily designed, and the lessons are not necessarily planned. It could take place at the spur of the moment when a parent shows their child how to clean a window, or when a child teaches their friend how to fold paper footballs.

Self directed education is when there is no teacher. The school of hard knocks is another term for this. This could be formalized, and even used as part of a formal education.

On wikipedia’s page about education I also found Indigenous Education. I think that’s just our way of saying that other, older education from cultures that have been overtaken or displaced should be included. From what I can tell, it’s less about the system and more about the content. Though using older methods is certainly a way to educate children about their heritage and culture.

Breaking down formal education, you could probably look at scale. One teacher to one student. One teacher to many students. One student to many teachers. Or many students to many teachers.

Then we look at how the students interact with each other. Do we have various age and skill levels together like in the Little House On The Prairie days, or do we separate students by skill or age? Do we have teachers with many students at lower levels with teacher pairing off as the students become more advanced?

Then we have the question of specialization. Do the teachers need to teach specific skills, or do they teach a group of skills. In the USA, we teach broad skills and then focus our students into specific fields. What if your society didn’t rely on specialization as much and you just needed to learn “how to live”.

Learning methods are varied and a system could be designed around all of them.

As for a list of educational systems, I have none, but I can come up with one.

• Work based learning is essentially apprenticeship.
• Familial systems where learning is passed directly from parents to children.
• Tribe based learning, where there is not as much specialization and a child can learn from any and all adults.
• Classroom based learning where the students go and sit and learn away from their ultimate career field (though there could be some practical experience involved).
• Uploaded Learning a la the matrix. This could also be done magically with spirit visions or the like.
• Competitive learning - not just competitive like one student wants to be better than the others. This is a system where the students are pitted directly against each other with a stiff penalty for those who perform poorly. These penalties could include death, ostracism, relegation to a lower class, etc.
• Computer Learning - systems where the student is expected to learn on their own via computer guided programs.
• Maze Learning - Students are put into a maze or other puzzle environment and expected to learn their way out.
• Direct Replacement Learning - Where a master directly trains their replacement. This is not necessarily the apprenticeship system, though there are similarities.
• Forced Amnesiatic Learning - Putting students into a system where they know little or nothing of the outside experience in order to let them learn various lessons experientially and understand the consequences of actions that they wouldn’t otherwise take.
• Tutors - individuals that come into the home to formally educate the student.
• The Boy Scout System - Students are given a list of objectives and told, “You don’t need to achieve these, but you’ll be better if you do and you’ll be the best if you achieve this highest objective.”

Q - What are the advantages and disadvantages are there?
A - There are advantages and disadvantages to every system. If there were no advantages, then a system would never have developed. Formal systems tend to have the advantage that they can teach a larger number of students, but they often sacrifice flexibility since they are often designed to reach more students. Informal systems can give great insight and really connect the learner to the subject matter, but they are often limited by when the teacher and student are together, the teacher’s expertise, and the lack of a formal assessment.

But let’s look at a specific example - Apprenticeship:

Advantages - Apprentices are trained by masters in their specific field. This means that they will get to know their vocation very well. Apprentices are also often trained by carrying out the basic necessary duties of a master (e.g. an apprentice blacksmith would make nails and help maintain furnace temperatures). By carrying out these duties, the apprentice would gain a far deeper understanding than if they had simply been told or read about the procedures. A master trains his or her successor, this allows for long term planning. Apprentices usually work closely with a single master in small groups, and over many years. This means that the teacher(master) will be well acquainted with the needs and learning style of their student (apprentice).

Disadvantages - Cost. A huge disadvantage of apprentices is that they are not an asset, they are a liability. An apprentice comes to their master with little or no training. The master often provides room and board, which costs money. In today’s society, the duties that an apprentice performs (like making nails) is much cheaper when performed by a machine or factory. The master has to take time to teach and train their apprentice, which means that the master isn’t able to focus on their own job %100 of the time. And the apprentice makes mistakes. Lots of mistakes. Even the best apprentice will make mistakes that often cost the master money or time correcting. And finally, the master is only able to take on a limited number of apprentices meaning that less workers come into the field via the apprenticeship method.

Q -How do those systems affect culture?

A - This question is huge. Compensation for teachers is important. Both social and monetary. The system of education will govern compensation. Better compensation will attract more teachers. More teachers can lead to a larger pool of understanding, pedagogy, and curriculum designs. In theory, this knowledge will enhance the learning experience for more students. More students learning means that the basic level of understanding increases. Increased basic understanding leads to more people being educated and literate. More literate students means a better transfer of knowledge. A better transfer of knowledge means that skills are more easily obtained. Easier skill learning means that a society will have students changing from one career field to another more often. Options for a better career often means a higher chance for a better lifestyle for more people. Better lifestyles for more people means higher expectations. Etc. etc. etc.

Thoughts:

Since I’m moderating this panel, my thoughts here will be a list of questions that I’d like to ask the panelists if there is an opening in the discussion.

• How are teachers treated by society and what effect does that have on education and culture?
• How are students treated by society, and to what effect?
• Is graduation a rite of passage, or is it a rare honor bestowed on only a few who care to pursue it?
•  Are teachers seen as wise leaders or babysitters?
• What kind of person needs to learn how to teach? A skilled laborer training an apprentice, or someone who is dedicated to teaching and doesn’t practice the skill themselves?
• Every method of education comes from the culture it is found in, and affects that culture. Larger societies will probably find ways to educate larger groups in a way that best serves their society. We have a culture that needed to produce workers that would sit in offices 8 hours a day, so we created schools that trained our students to do just that. What does your culture want from it’s average citizen?
• Are there different classes or levels of people? If so, how would that affect education? Are there different education systems for each class?
• Formal education of some sort is probably going to be found in every culture. What kind of society fosters formal education? What kind of society fosters informal education?

Do you have some questions you’d like to ask? Come to the panel, or leave a comment here. I’ll check for comments up until a bit before the panel at 1:00 on Friday.