70 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
70 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
**Prussian Education** or **Forced Schooling** refers to an ideal of
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[education](education "wikilink") that stands in stark contrast to
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democratic education. Prussian Education developed out of what is now
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[Germany](Germany "wikilink") in the late 18th century and argues that
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students should be subject to a strict timetable, curriculum and
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lecture-style classrooms. Students are subjected to constant monitoring
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and their progress is logged mathematically and 'graded', doling out
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rewards to students.
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The strongest critics of Prussian Education argue that it constitutes
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indoctrination towards the worship of authority figures and often
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engages in historical whitewashing (or denialism) to make the
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[state](State_\(Polity\) "wikilink") look better. Others acknowledge
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these criticisms as valid, but recognise the role these schools have in
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preventing children being forced into harsh working conditions and
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occasionally helping against poverty.
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## History
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*Note: Libertarian Socialist historians tend to develop an understanding
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of Prussian Education from a critical perspective. This conflicts with
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mainstream history and is possibly wrong, if sources are incorrect,
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please edit.*
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## Purposes
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### Colonialism
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Forced Schooling played a strong role in wiping out indigenous cultures
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in order to eliminate the ability of these cultures to [socially
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reproduce](Social_Reproduction "wikilink") [reverse dominance
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hierarchies](Reverse_Dominance_Hierarchy "wikilink") in order to aid the
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military objectives of [colonialism](colonialism "wikilink"). This is
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done by wiping out language, kinship, family ties, cultural knowledge,
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history and other traditions. Examples of this include the Stolen
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Generations in [Australia](Stolen_Generation_\(Australia\) "wikilink")
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and [New Zealand](Stolen_Generation_\(New_Zealand\) "wikilink") as well
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as Residential Schools in the
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[USA](Residential_Schools_\(USA\) "wikilink") and
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[Canada](Residential_Schools_\(Canada\) "wikilink"). In addition to the
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rampant verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse that occurred in
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these institutions. Many psychologists believe the forced assimilation
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of native cultures has contributed to their high suicide rates and
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poverty.\[1\]
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### Statism
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According to [Peter Gelderloos](Peter_Gelderloos "wikilink"):
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> [Anticapitalists](Anti-Capitalism "wikilink") will often insist that
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> the purpose of public education is to prepare workers. This is
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> balderdash, a perfect example of dogma obviating reality. The vast
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> majority of the lesson plan, once a pupil is literate and knows the
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> most basic maths, is irrelevant to the tasks of the future worker,
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> unless we count the abilities to follow orders, accept confinement,
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> and complete meaningless tasks; however, those skills are required of
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> all citizens, employed or unemployed, prole or petty-bourgeoisie. A
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> typical worker has absolutely no need to know about ancient Egypt,
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> William Shakespeare, or basic chemistry. No, the fundamental purpose
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> of education is to civilize children, and a large part of this means
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> filling their heads with the lies that are necessary to make them
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> always view history and society from the perspective that privileges
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> state power.\[2\]
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1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
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<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_education#Criticisms_of_the_Western_educational_model>
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2. [Peter Gelderloos](Peter_Gelderloos "wikilink") - [Worshiping Power:
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An Anarchist History of Early State
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Formation](Worshiping_Power_\(Book\) "wikilink") (2017): Zomia: A
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Topography of Positionality |