Humor for the day: A man applying for a job asked the interviewer whether the company would pay for his hospital insurance. The interviewer said the worker would pay for it, but it was deducted from his check. “The last place I worked, the company paid for it,” he said. “Did they pay for your life insurance, too?” asked the interviewer. “Sure they did,” the man said. “Not only that, but we got unlimited sick leave, severance pay, three weeks’ vacation, a Christmas bonus and coffee breaks.” “Then why did you leave such a perfect place?” the interviewer asked. “They went bankrupt,” the man admitted.
It is my thinking that our educational system in Indiana and the nation has gone bankrupt. I make this conclusive statement based on this observation: our children have become “merchandise” and victims of our merchandising economic system. Our children are objects of and for the profiteers. These past few months, there was all the disappointment and dismay concerning the ISTEP initiative past and present, and it was all about money. There was neither conversation nor reporting by media concerning the content of the test itself. I do agree that we should get rid of the ISTEP. But, that is not all.
I recognize a “viral” epidemic that I call merchandising our children, and calling it educating them and education. We have what is called the STEM project — it means science, technology, engineering and math — that is to be the focus for our children’s learning. I do not disagree with that learning experience, but it is only a small part of what learning and education have to be. Learning is not just about getting a job that fits and serves the merchants of society for their profits. Education and the learning process are most necessary for individuals to know how to live together in harmony and respect one another. Unfortunately, it seems to me education is marketing (merchandising) our children to be the new “slaves” to capitalist consumerism. I recall my father saying to me, “Son, as Black people we used to be the production slaves for the economic system of America, but we are becoming the consumer slaves.” This was said to me in 1950, and it is true today, not only for Blacks, but also for all cultures of our society.
It is not just religion that markets people for consumer purposes; the whole fabric of our society is driven by “merchandising people” for profits and control. Our criminal justice system is very much involved. Our political system is strong in merchandising persons as it relates to the military and the ballot box. At the top of the list is our media system, which is high tech and has the ability to manipulate information in a false manner.
The education for our children has to be truly for their growth and not for the pockets of the rich and the greedy. Merchandising our children has to cease in our educational enterprise. This means educational enterprise is to be a focus on values and morals that cause behavior growth in a positive manner. The educational system and its operation has got to give value to the child and the teacher, not give value to the dollar. I am convinced there is the need to merchandise ideas and not people. This notion is very difficult in the 21st century, but it must be done.
When I refer to merchandising ideas, this means ideas of morals that teach persons how to live and work together. It never ceases to amaze me that in our schools there were never any courses on love and relationship, the meaning of truth, being nonviolent, and peace and justice. It would really be interesting to see what kind of new testing types or formulas the educational system will have next year. We do know that our teachers will get some pay raises, and that is a good beginning that is long overdue.
