tw25594396 (u/tw25594396)

tw25594396 commented on Why are boys academically underperforming? [audio] bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cs... · Posted by u/respinal

dolni · 5 years ago

What point are you trying to make by misquoting me? Are you trying to compare public school to prison?

tw25594396 · 5 years ago

> Are you trying to compare public school to prison?

With respect to how both environments force humans to adapt to the institution, and thereby manifest a perverse socialization, yes. The differences are in magnitude, not direction.

I'm reminded of the flawed "alpha" theory of wolf behavior. Turns out the observed dominance struggles were directly related to being in captivity; this form of "socialization" doesn't emerge in the wild.

tw25594396 commented on Why are boys academically underperforming? [audio] bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cs... · Posted by u/respinal

dolni · 5 years ago

Couldn't disagree more. Humanity has developed a society with acceptable norms to make life more enjoyable for everybody. One of the important things school does is socialize kids.

If a stranger breaks into your home and kills your kid, the natural response for a lot of people is to kill the person that did it. There are a lot of reasons why we _don't_ allow that in civilized countries. People have to be socialized to reject that natural behavior.

More to school children, they as adults will not be successful if they frequently act impulsively. Adulthood in society is finding a fulfilling career, maintaining healthy relationships, paying your bills on time, and setting fulfilling long term goals for yourself. None of those things are helped by impulsive behavior.

tw25594396 · 5 years ago

> One of the important things prison does is socialize inmates.

tw25594396 commented on Why are boys academically underperforming? [audio] bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cs... · Posted by u/respinal

Reedx · 5 years ago

> First off, they are more motor-hyperactive, they move, fidget, get out of their chairs: their very neurochemistry develops differently, making them less adept at "sit still and write notes" aspect of school.

Right. And instead of changing school to adapt to kids (e.g., less sitting in chairs, more free play), we change kids to adapt to school (e.g., medicate, discipline, hold back).

Our approach is completely backwards.

tw25594396 · 5 years ago

> Our approach is completely backwards.

"This is not accidental or a result of the arbitrariness of arrogant bureaucrats. It is necessary and inevitable in any technologically advanced society. The system HAS TO regulate human behavior closely in order to function.

"At work, people have to do what they are told to do, when they are told to do it and in the way they are told to do it, otherwise production would be thrown into chaos. Bureaucracies HAVE TO be run according to rigid rules. To allow any substantial personal discretion to lower-level bureaucrats would disrupt the system and lead to charges of unfairness due to differences in the way individual bureaucrats exercised their discretion.

"The result is a sense of powerlessness on the part of the average person. It may be, however, that formal regulations will tend increasingly to be replaced by psychological tools that make us want to do what the system requires of us. (Propaganda, educational techniques, "mental health" programs, etc.)"