The Book

This entry is written as an introduction to the book being edited out of this blog's entries in 2009:

Less than a year ago, I set out to systematically study the issues surrounding mass education. I felt the current state of affairs is very wrong, but I didn't know many details. Not knowing enough about the problem, I of course couldn't know much about possible solutions. It took me a few months of study to understand the problem a bit better. Then it took a few more months to shape my opinion about what kind of education system would work. Then it took a few more months to get a sense as to what might be a useful first step to get from where we are now to the ultimate goal - a viable education system for the 21^st and 22^nd centuries. And here we are.

This is a rather lofty goal. Who am I to design an education system, or even to think about it? It would take a much better qualified person to do it. To be really worthy of planning an education system, it would take a lot of knowledge and experience:

• Knowledge and experience as a developmental psychologist
• Experience in teaching different ages
• Preschool
• Primary school
• Secondary school
• High school
• Experience as a school principal
• Experience in various related state-government roles
• Experience in various related local-government roles
• Knowledge and experience in regulation
• Academic depth in education, and specifically, public education
• Experience and academic depth in alternative education
• Academic depth in public education policy
• Know humanity’s accumulated knowledge and experience in the field of education
• Through time
• Past 200 years
• Throughout history
• What about Prehistory?
• Across the world
• What happened in each country?
• Why it worked?
• Why it didn't work?
• Be aware of all research ever done, with a critical eye to discern the strengths and weaknesses of each such research
• Education
• Relevant fields of psychology
• Relevant fields of public policy

It's a tall order. No human being matches all of the above requirements, and I certainly don't match any of them. Instead of total expertise, maybe something can be done with common sense, willingness to learn, and cooperation with experts.

This book intentionally sticks to everyday layperson’s language. It avoids specific educational/psychological/political jargon that would make it less accessible and less useful to the public in general. It is not a scientific book written for scientists. This is one reason I allow myself to use references to Internet locations such as wikipedia, which while not acceptable as a source for academic papers, is surprisingly accurate - more than enough for a layman's use.

Another aspect of this book is that it is written mostly from the point of view of an outsider to the education system and to the adjacent political systems. Being an outsider doesn't mean I can be disconnected and talk as a pure theoretician - that would not be likely to generate a book that has much to do with reality. To have relevant ideas, I have to be involved - get in the field and see how things work. Of course it is never “enough.” But one needs to find a balance: To see and know about reality, but not get so involved with that reality that one becomes an insider, committed to certain world views and agendas. Becoming an insider, I would risk becoming used to think as a status quo teacher, academic, researcher, government etc. On the other hand, there is a chance an outsider would see everybody’s thinking with fresh eyes. .An outsider is more likely to be understood by laypeople. No jargon. No reliance on specialized previous knowledge... No promises, though.

A few thoughts about getting involved: How does one get involved enough to gain understanding, without losing too much objectivity?

• Be in a class as a pupil - We all did that for many years
• Be in a class as a teacher, but don’t take on the stance of a teacher
• Work with academics in thinking and research, but don’t become a pure academic
• Learn from academic sources about psychology, motivation, education, public policy, etc. But don't take their world-views as your own
• Look closely from within at government decision-making, but for heaven's sake don't become a politician
• Work with NGOs concerned with education, while remembering most of them have different aims than you
• ... You get the picture

I tried to do much of that, and still doing it to improve my understanding, trying to keep from buying into any specific agenda.

One last thought before we go: The book was originally written as a blog, as part of a process of learning and exploring the issues around mass education. It documents much thinking and rethinking, so many thoughts and details do not lead directly to the main conclusions. Rather, they provide some context, depth and hopefully a better basis for understanding. The main ideas that constitute the backbone of this book are: Market economy for education, minimal but strict Regulation and Knowledge-Building through Research. The book should be read in light of these concepts.