I learned
something interesting a few weeks ago. In the 1880s Prussia had the highest
literacy rate of any European country and thus the Prussian schools were used
as a model for schools in the U.S.A. and likely Canada.
So now I’m
sure one of three thoughts is going through your mind:
1, “You
kinda just misspelled Russia there……”
2, “Yeah?
So what?”
3, “I
KNOW!”
Well if
you’re thinking number 1, no, I did not misspell Russia, I spelled Prussia
correctly. You see Prussia was a militaristic empire based in Germany from the
1500s through the early 1900s. And when I say militaristic I mean they ruled
the roost with one of the most fearsome armies in Europe. So now you’re
thinking “What on earth does this have to do with school?” Bear with me, I’m
getting to that.
So into
this militaristic country comes Napoleon Bonaparte. And he whips them. Big
time. This humiliating defeat gets the Prussians looking at ways to improve
their military. Ah hah! Mandatory School! So the Prussian school system is
born, complete with standardized nationwide tests. But how is this going to
improve the military? Well in a word; indoctrination. You see the perfect
soldier never questions authority they just go in and get the job done. A
mandatory, government run school was the perfect way to make sure all those
potential soldiers got the pre-training (brainwashing, indoctrination, whatever)
they ‘needed’. And all these mandatory schools meant that everyone learned to
read, giving the Prussians some of the highest literacy rates in the world.
Now let me
point out that if you’re running a country and you’re population can’t read, it
makes you look bad. So seeing those Prussians with such a high literacy rate
made every one think “Hey! They must be doing something right!” Which was how
it came about that the Prussian model was used in the U.S.A.
And now we
get to the important question. So What? Who cares if the Americans used the
Prussian model? Why does it even matter? Here’s why; every government in every
country around the world is insecure. People are awfully strong when they all get
ticked off, and more than one or two governments have gone the way of the dodo
bird when the people got fed up. So how do you keep the people satisfied? Well
the method that most governments would like to say they follow is that they do
what the people want, but that’s hard and people can be so demanding! One way that
allows the government to pursue it’s own goals is to keep the people suppressed
and ignorant for as long as possible and hope they get used to it. Another more
peaceful method, used most notably by Hitler before and during WWII is to indoctrinate
the people as much as you possibly can.
Now let me
just say that no matter where you got your schooling you still got the
indoctrination, all those ‘Adventures in Odyssey’ about war were about how
heroic it is to be a soldier fighting for your country right? And all those
history textbooks written in the USA had an awful lot to say about how
wonderful the constitution was. And heck, even the fact that your parents
shared their faith and opinions with you could be classified as indoctrination.
And it wasn’t all bad was it? Because your parents gave you their ‘opinion’
that it was wrong to hit you don’t go out and clobber people, at least not
where everyone can see. And because you’ve been trained to believe freedom of
speech is important you like to share your opinions.
Proverbs 22:6
says that you should “Train a child up in the way that he should go and when he
is old he will not depart from it.” So while you’re a child you absorb all the
training people give you and when you grow up you will act on that training. All
I’m saying that maybe there should be serious thought going into where that
training will come from. And maybe it shouldn’t mostly come from the
government.
