I wrote this in Trey’s comments and I reproduce it here slightly altered:

Citing J. H. Thornwell’s opposition to the Union seems like a really bad idea, even if he happened to be right.  Thornwell said that one reason the South must secede was because the Federal government would not allow slavery to extend West. He made slavery the essence of the Southern identity saying that the Feds were in effect dictating that Southern men who moved westward do so not as Southern men but as Northern men (the book I read on this was entitled The Metaphysical Confederacy).

I simply cannot stand Thornwell. Thornwell was, in fact, one of the top most important apologists for slavery as well as the South.  He is known to secular historians of the period because of his fame on this issue. His name blackens the reputation of the PCA and I wish we would forget him. At least in Dabney’s case, if one must have a Southern Presbyterian hero, I find actually worthwhile theology. Thornwell’s legacy is simply to make Presbyterians into wet-baby baptists as a matter of principle.

When one finds oneself opposed to the expanded power of the Federal Government, one finds oneself holding a position espoused by all sorts of uglies like Mormon polygamists, skinists, “Christian” polygamists, and other human trash. My strategy is to ignore them. I think we would all be better off doing the same with Thornwell. I’d use Lord Acton or someone who has a deserved reputation for loving justice rather than Thornwell.

Instead of reading about my new mower last night, I got caught up reading Chris‘ chapter-by-chapter summary of Gatto’s underground history of American education.  So far the big difference between my speculation and Gatto’s history is that Gatto thinks that our ruling class escapes the problems the rest of us face in the public school system.  Whether that is by design or accident, I’ll leave aside.

I’ll have to think about this some more, but Chris is invoking all sorts of anarchic demons I have been trying to suppress.  But it also makes me think of some other books that might have more credibility with some people.  I’ll have to see if I can dig up an old title…

OK, I am not an unschooler and I don’t think I could be one if I wanted to be one. However, experience has led me to appreciated this sort of post more than I would have a decade ago.

The role of fear in all this
It seems to me that the 12-year curriculum is all based on insurance. When a child reaches a certain point he will have many options, it is thought, that he would not have otherwise. For example, if I had been forced against my will to take piano lessons, I might have had entertainment and musical career options open to me later in life that were quite far away from me instead.

I think this is a pretty powerful incentive. People respond to their fears, especially the fear of not preparing their children.

The role of relative scarcity
Then also, we ought to remember how it used to be in pre-modern times when it was almost a given that a child would work his father’s business, or else he was entered into an apprenticeship of many years outside the home. Education was mostly training and it both empowered people and limited them.

Why isn’t seen as necessary? I could see some claiming that the invention of public school began to provide a way to through off the dictates of nature. One could choose one’s profession by proclivity after having many options left open. But I think the wealth increase of the industrial revolution played a part. People were glad to be given a trade because they wanted to have some reasonable chance of gaining the necessities of life. But as we became filthy rich (as a society we are incredibly wealthy) we simply ceased to find those necessities so hard to grasp.

The system cuts off options even as it may give some options
And arguably, the 12-year curriculum cuts off the best options. If I want to enroll my child in band, typically I have to add this on to a work load that remains unchanging. This means, by definition, that a person who is more musically gifted but not as gifted in other areas, will not be as likely to practice music. Homework time will eat away at everything else. The only people who will be likely to explore and build on their musical gifts will be those who are already naturally gifted in other areas so that they can get the homework out of the way.

What is the education ideal of the 12-year Curriculum?

In this video, the speaker suggest the academic professor is the ideal of the school system. But I wonder if it is something else. Since the industrial revolution we have seen managerial elites in both government and business basically run the world. I wonder if they are not preserving an educational system that assumes desk jockeying is the basic posture of productive human effort. Belonging to a corporate system. Being supervised and constantly evaluated on paper. These are the marks of the ruling culture.

But while I have no problem admitting that such rule can be appropriate and beneficial, I wonder if they would have the same kind of hold on us if we didn’t have the sort of educational system that we have.

The schools assume that the one who thrives in that sort of regimented environment is the ideal person.

I just got this in my email:

To: ByFaith Readers
From: Dick Doster, Editor
Subject: Survey on the PCA’s Political Involvement

We’re working on an article for the October/November issue of byFaith and wondered if you’d help.

Our story explores attitudes among PCA people toward politics. And we’re especially interested in getting a sense for how 20 and 30-year-olds may think differently from 40 and 50-year-olds. And how 40 and 50-year-olds think differently from 60 and 70-year-olds.

The survey will only take a few minutes. Would you click on the link below, answer the questions (there are six, plus a couple of demographic questions), and add ample comments in the spaces provided?

Your involvement will be a big help as we try to complement and corroborate some of the information we’ve gathered.

Please click here to take the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Nqsj_2bYLv7i5OxScHgwBn3g_3d_3d

And thanks in advance for your help.

For the sake of the kingdom,

Dick Doster
Editor