The Cadre, March 39, I976, page 12

And In. This

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'Wis(the student’s) imagination is ’schooled” to accept service in place of value.Medical treat- ment is mistaken for health care,social work for the impro- vement of community life,

police protection for safety, military poise fbr national security,the rat race for productive work.Health,learning; dignity,independence,and crea— tive endeavor are defined as little more than the performa- nce of the institutions which claim to serve these ends,and 'their improvement is made to depend on allocating more resources to the manage ment

of hospitals,schools,and other agencies in question.”

Ivan Illich

These words are taken from the first page of De—thool- Wlflheir impact has been immense.It may sound crazy to suggest that in the area of educational reform, the publication of a single book could be a revolution— ary event.In the context of such events as wide-spread student rebellion,extensive democratization of the uni- versities,immense expendit- ures on new schools,riots over school conditions of the poor,sweeping liberal changes such as open area and non— gradedmess,de—segregatflon, the Free (alternative)School movement and other major efforts in the last decade

- in the context of all these events,to proclaim that a single book has had the most powerful effect of all may seem somewhat of an over- statementEBut it isn't.

Well,what does De-Schooling Society say that has had such a profound effect on the educational reform movement? To oversimplify here,it says that schools,even the best ones are morally and ethically unjustifiable and must be dis— established along with the society they propagate.Chiefly schools stratify society, create a consumerism ethos in whatever country they are, and make people both in and out of school more stupid.I

Corner";

wish to talk here of the second of these - consumer education. ’

In all countries of the world when learning is defined as compulsory using-up of structured curriculum and government officials attempt to compete at producing the most "well—educated" populace, schools bring with them a

- concept of man which is new

to recérded history.The scho- oled man gives up his capa- city to look after his own life 4 to entertain himself, to think,to communicate freely, to be able to console others, and an the many built-in abilities that tell him he is in charge of what he does and is important in his environ- ment.With a schooled mental- ityhhe wishes to be excused from life,to have his needs met by professional services and consumerable goods,to increase his standard-of- living by becoming more pass- ivel cared for,entertained,and fed.He does not ask about life or how he can solve the vital problems around him;he asks only that his purchasing power be increased to allow him to consume more McDonald's hamburgs or buy a new car. This change in man can

be most easily seen in the Third World where schools cause massivexsoctal dis- location by creating demands for the consumeriswxof cities and service centers.Development planners assume that those who look after themselves by abilities and not purchasing power are deprived,and gover- nment policy further pushes towards dependency because of the increased economic wealth created by consumeragle servi- ces.In Western society of course,mass advertized culture predominates,Everywhere in the world schools are the strongest weapons for changing people's life—styles.

To approach the dynamics of consumer education I find it useful here to use two headings — certification and compulsory attendance — ‘ without which you wouldn't have any school.With luck the aspects outlined will fit into these categories.

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Certification in the form of degrees,diplomas,etc. means that the student has successfully done some work outlined by curriculum plan— ners.Everywhere that there is school students are striv- to get higher certification

- it is the Grade and not

— yet the Dollar that is

A1mighty.When exams roll around,all learning exper— ience stops,no matter how worthwhile,and students feed

back their consumed curriculum. I find it fascinating that

our language clearly illustr- ates that certification means conlumption of packaged curr- iculum.We can say"I'm here to

get an education",but we don't say "I'm here to get a learn— ing".Learning and education are two different varmins.lts been said(I believe it was Illich,again)that education

is the packaged product of

the school factory.

' And we consume it extra- vagantly.We hardly notice

or at least take for granted the increased expenditures for educational resources as we

move up the school ladder.He not only get more as we become more"educated" ,we expect to increasingly get more,not only within the school system but outside it as we11.When afflu— ence happens automatically and increases as we move to the next grade,we become accustomed to always having more.

Along this same line of thinking,assume for a moment that you have four thousand dollars to spend on learning’ for a year.Compare the possi— bilities with what you are presently offered at univer— sity.

The drop—out alongzthe way understands of course that the school student receives much.He also under— stands that tb overcome the label of second-class citizen that school bestowed on him he must compete along con- sumerist lines or else accept his drop-out status,

Finally,certification and the consumerism it creates is furthered by school when school advertises the certified society as the good life and offers degrees towards this. We all too readily accept at face value the claims offered in such advertising.Incidently, there is a law suit on in the States charging schools with false advertising and decept— ion in packaging.

COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE

Now to switch into the second main category — you guessed it — compulsory \ attendance(actua11y this will probably sound like more of the same jumble).

When a person is denied the right to refuse treatment 'directed at him many things can happen.0ne of the most powerful influences in consum- er education is the replacement in young children of their driving curiosity and desire- to learn with the process of being taught.AB the quote at the first of this article suggest§11t is not a big jump to assimilating the professional—client relation- ship into one's whole life- style.Certainly those who don't wish to or have become incapable of directing their own educational experience are common enough.

Good old authoritarian oppression with its particular type of dehumanizing teacher- student relationship can also be said to further the consum— erism ethos.By overwhelming the student and turning him into an object,the oppressor- teacher erases any possibility that the student will be able Ito find security in himself, instead of in things,and leaves the student vulnerable and dependent on powerful material— ist influences.A docile student is a good passive consumer and also an easy mark for the constant barrage of product advertising on the media.

The liberal trend towards more freedom in education has its own special effects as well."Attendance as the result of seduction inculcates the need for specialized treatment more persuasively than reluc- aant attendance enforced by truant officers."Freedom has been translated to mean not human and civil rights for young people,but instead an ideology of free choice.Kids are free to choose program a,b,or c — in.the same way

our Minds Have‘Been Stand to» Service Use, Rather Than‘Living -

they can choose between brand .x,y,or z in the super-market. They don't,of course,have the freedom of making their own option,or of not choosing option a,b,or c which are

generally the same old shit anyway.But such reforms parade under the banner of freedom and humanism and we must praise them.

A fourth factor involved is that the’student,during the years it is mandfitory for him to attend,lives in a world-which is wholly a artifiicial.Man finds his humanness in his relation to nature and other men as a creator of culture and history.ln the school world(as contrasted with "the real world outside") the student becomes useless. In northern Quebec the Innuits‘ have refused to send any of their young people to school because they become incapable of looking after themselves away from that environment.

Finally,the high level of affluence in modern schools

influences the expectations of students.The middle-class teacher and norms of success further add to this as do conformity,competition,and other behavior patterns.In the large school where students are usually not well known to each other,personal status is often related to appearance and an amazing amount of time and money are spent on this. 7 * * * I

We11,if anyone's been count"- ing,that's about ten ways that schools produce consumers.Most of them apply directly to the consolidated schools on P.E.I. It is neally not surprizing that the Island life style is being replaced and we are becoming more like Toronto or any other p1ace.It u a

A direct conscious government

policy that creates consolid— ated service centers and edu- cation.Un1ess we fight to regain our self—reliance we shall become ever more depend— ent on others and on a dehuman- izing consumerism culture.

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