Episode 49 - Information revolution, learning with Web technologies, schools that don't suck, self-interest and self-responsibi

Understanding the Web and America's youth http://www.rocketboom.com/rb_08_dec_03/ (An Interview with Don Tapscott) net@night 79: Don Tapscott, Grown Up Digital http://twit.tv/natn79 What are the implications of always being connected to the Internet? Governmental schools are the main anchor around the neck of our society The common person seems to follow all the clueless statist intellectuals Coercively-funded "Public schools" cannot teach anything coherent about economics--because they operate outside the free market The ills of Keynesian (governmental) economics versus the goodness of Austrian (free market) economics What government does (perpetrate crimes) is prohibited to individuals outside of government Of course, government by nature has no interest in defending and upholding individual rights Being a "good student" leads to being a "good citizen," in which obedience and compliance are expected Liberation by Internet by Gennady Stolyarov II http://mises.org/story/3060 Surfing the Net via China? http://chinachannel.hk/ More and more access to information will eventually destroy the statist memes Focusing on technological improvements without focusing on getting rid of authoritarian pedagogy is beyond ridiculous http://www.grownupdigital.com/index.php/2008/12/teachers-and-technology-should-work-together/ Teaching is the highest form of manipulation, said one of my college profs The fine pedagogical art of of trimming leaves on a rotten tree...and singing teachers union songs Mimicking free market innovations in the governmental school classroom still retains an antiquated pedagogy and statist memes The entire authoritarian structure of governmental education must be hidden (in plain sight) with propaganda and threats Check out iTunes University for tons of educational stuff! http://www.apple.com/education/mobile-learning/  http://deimos3.apple.com/indigo/main/main.xml Finding ways to approach statist mentalities in a constructive rather than destructive (pugilistic;) fashion Explaining another's point view, so that he/she feels understood The main problem with minarchism is that it leads the statist apparatus (coercive monopoly) in place to abuse the populace Having a negative tone towards government (because those in it act unjustly and immorally) really means having a positive view of individuals (and the respect they deserve) Resourceful, creative, independent, innovative, and moral individuals are threats to government itself; thus governmental schools Basically, because people are not practicing enough self-responsibility, we have government Noble purposes must be ascribed to the unjust and immoral actions of governmental officials, in order to appeal to people's inherent virtues and make things seem not what they are People defend evil in order to prevent their worldview from dissolving Our task is to be objective and state the truth, especially when nearly everyone is defending falsehoods (particularly statist intellectuals) The importance of Wikipedia for fact-checking and information literacy Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky http://www.amazon.com/Here-Comes-Everybody-Organizing-Organizations/dp/1594201536 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_comes_everybody Web 2.0 technologies will eventually rid the world of powerful guilds, so-called experts, and sundry "authorities" Statism is anti-self-esteem and anti-change; complete liberty is pro-self-esteem and pro-change The agricultural revolution, industrial revolution, information revolution were all exploited by government to enslave and destroy individuals We still live in the age of pre-logic, where most people pay little attention to contradictions An attempt at a peaceful world? http://www.itakethevow.com/ Those in government ultimately depend on violence, theft, and deception in order to exist; since people already know this, why do they make excuses for statism? One of Stefan Molyneux's brilliant assessments of the subject: http://www.mediafly.com/Podcasts/Episodes/FDR1233_Free_Will_Determinism_And_Self_Knowledge Governmental schooling is an organization of authoritarian sociopathy the purports to be good for "students" Paul Dressel's smart quote: "A grade can be regarded only as an inadequate report of an inaccurate judgment by a biased and variable judge of the extent to which a student has attained an undefined level of mastery of an unknown proportion of an indefinite amount of material." Facts and Fancy in Assigning Grades. Basic College Quarterly, 2 (1957), 6-12 (referenced here: http://www.logicallearning.net/libertyeducation.html) Grades and tests as essential methods of controlling students Brett's world history lesson in 10 seconds: A long story, continuously repeating itself, looping century after century, about how an extremely small group of people controls an extremely large group of people by fear or by force--and their best weapon is the ignorance of the people Though the Bill of Rights looks good on paper (supposedly restraining despotic government), it harbors a false premise--it legitimizes a coercive institution that violate individual rights on a daily basis To defy property taxes (i.e., extortion) is heroic--it's crucial to stand up for logic, property rights, and especially individual learners Sudbury model (the "free school" model) compared and contrasted with Montessori, Waldorf, and Progressive schools (and "student government"), as well as homeschooling http://www.sudval.org/ A couple useful resources (basically, parentally unstructured homeschooling): http://www.unschooling.org/index.htm and http://www.unschooling.com/ The fastest and best way to help kids become educated, self-esteeming, and mature is to respect their right to make choices as individual learners Interest (intrinsic motivation) is the only criterion for engaging in any activity, and satisfaction the only evaluation of success (Sudbury model, or any enlightened pedagogy) My favorite child psychology book: The Secret of Childhood by Maria Montessori http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=8977399 A learner who doesn't know what to learn (no imposed lesson plan), will then learn how to know what to learn! Learning as manifestation of the entrepreneurial spirit Boredom as learning experience; people's discomfort with themselves is yet another product of governmental schools Democratic decision-making denies self-responsibility and objectivity, though it is a good tool for quelling dissent and imposing self-blame (You, it's what's for dinner!) The two aspects of government that really suck--the one that doesn't work for you (even though it's supposed to) and the one that works for those in charge Democracy: The God That Failed: The Economics And Politics Of Monarchy, Democracy, And Natural Order by Hans-Hermann Hoppe http://tinyurl.com/lv7xr Psychologist Carl Rogers' fabulous quotation about the proper educational attitude: "To free curiosity; to permit individuals to go charging off in new directions dictated by their own interests; to unleash the sense of inquiry; to open everything to questioning and exploration; to recognize that everything is in process of change—here is an experience I can never forget." (referenced here: http://www.logicallearning.net/libertyeducation.html) Ultimately, the governmental school is a processing plant: The child goes in; the obedient employee/soldier/taxpayer goes out What's needed: The Practice of Self-Responsibility by Nathaniel Branden http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_23&products_id=36 bumper music "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance http://mychemicalromance.com/ to comment, please go to http://completeliberty.com/magazine/category/91697