Conspiracy theories you give merit

Started by Her April 11th, 2015 9:00 PM
  • 2556 views
  • 14 replies

Her

Age 29
Seen 3 Hours Ago
Posted 1 Week Ago
According to a quick little Google search, a conspiracy theory is defined as 'a belief that some covert but influential organization is responsible for a circumstance or event.' Another definition as provided by the Wikipedia page on the subject is 'A conspiracy theory is an explanatory proposition that accuses two or more persons, a group, or an organization of having caused or covered up, through secret planning and deliberate action, an illegal or harmful event or situation.'
For the purposes of this topic, either statement can be expanded upon to suit discussion over cryptids and other theories you may buy into. The only topic I do not want to see mentioned in here is 9/11 as I feel like it would monopolise the discussion. Plus, I can see it going into disrespectful territory from the get go.

I'm sure there's at least one theory about the sinister cabals in the world that you believe in. But why? Can you make a post in this thread that could convince others to see things your way?
I would appreciate relatively thought out answers in this thread, thank you.

Alexander Nicholi

work hard, play hard

Age 25
Male
Research Triangle / Jakarta
Seen February 15th, 2023
Posted March 5th, 2021
5,498 posts
13.5 Years
I think the education system is used to enslave people by taking away their ability to critical think. In childhood and adolescence you have a learning window that would often be filled with teachings on critical thinking, but what schools in the US are doing instead is supplying a blind obedience that looks like critical thinking to the unwary eye.

My experience is from being a schoolchild and also from being a child whose every issue with numerous schools have revolved around mine and my parent's refusal to do absurd things for the school simply because they say so. I really hope my children won't have to go through public education.
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BriCKson

Rarely comes out of Trade Corner... O.o

Male
Arizona
Seen December 14th, 2019
Posted December 14th, 2019
117 posts
9.6 Years
I think the education system is used to enslave people by taking away their ability to critical think. In childhood and adolescence you have a learning window that would often be filled with teachings on critical thinking, but what schools in the US are doing instead is supplying a blind obedience that looks like critical thinking to the unwary eye.

My experience is from being a schoolchild and also from being a child whose every issue with numerous schools have revolved around mine and my parent's refusal to do absurd things for the school simply because they say so. I really hope my children won't have to go through public education.
I would agree with this. I am a history major and see that the US school systems pick apart history to favor obedience/pro US propaganda. In a lot of places history is completely removed from education or is an elective, which is disgusting. If you take away a persons culture and implement the culture you want them to have they will never truly know who they are or the lessons that were learned from our past.
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Age 31
Male
USA
Seen July 23rd, 2020
Posted March 11th, 2018
132 posts
14.8 Years
Sadly, Inyotef, that's not really much of a conspiracy.

Just look here at the role of education being described by the famous educator Alexander Inglis in his 1918 book, "The Principles of Secondary Education"
6 basic functions of school as described by renown educator John Taylor Gatto
1) The adjustive or adaptive function.
Schools are to establish fixed habits of reaction to authority. This, of course, precludes critical judgment completely. It also pretty much destroys the idea that useful or interesting material should be taught, because you can't test for reflexive obedience until you know whether you can make kids learn, and do, foolish and boring things.

2) The integrating function.
This might well be called "the conformity function," because its intention is to make children as alike as possible. People who conform are predictable, and this is of great use to those who wish to harness and manipulate a large labor force.

3) The diagnostic and directive function.
School is meant to determine each student's proper social role. This is done by logging evidence mathematically and anecdotally on cumulative records. As in "your permanent record." Yes, you do have one.

4) The differentiating function.
Once their social role has been "diagnosed," children are to be sorted by role and trained only so far as their destination in the social machine merits - and not one step further. So much for making kids their personal best.

5) The selective function.
This refers not to human choice at all but to Darwin's theory of natural selection as applied to what he called "the favored races." In short, the idea is to help things along by consciously attempting to improve the breeding stock. Schools are meant to tag the unfit - with poor grades, remedial placement, and other punishments - clearly enough that their peers will accept them as inferior and effectively bar them from the reproductive sweepstakes. That's what all those little humiliations from first grade onward were intended to do: wash the dirt down the drain.

6) The propaedeutic function.
The societal system implied by these rules will require an elite group of caretakers. To that end, a small fraction of the kids will quietly be taught how to manage this continuing project, how to watch over and control a population deliberately dumbed down and declawed in order that government might proceed unchallenged and corporations might never want for obedient labor.

If you want the direct quotes from the book, you can find them in this direct copy and paste. They run from page 375 to roughly 387 if I recall correctly. (The PDF loads slow so please forgive me for any errors in that regard.)
Spoiler:
II. THE FUNCTIONS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
157. The functions of secondary education. For present
purposes the term "functions" is employed to designate
certain elements for which secondary education must pro- vide if the aims previously formulated are to be attained.
Those functions are determined in part by the nature of
society and in part by the nature of the pupils to be educated,
factors which in important ways condition the attainment
of the aims set. If we conceive of the aims of secondary
education as the ultimate goals which it is to attain we must
recognize that certain factors must be involved hi the at- tempt to reach those goals. Thus we may conceive of the
social-civic aim of secondary education as involving preparation
for efficient participation in social-civic life. Many
important functions are therein involved, e.g., means of adjusting the individual and his social environment, the
development of a "social mind" and social cohesion among
groups of individuals, the adjustment of individual differ- ences to the differentiated needs of society, control of the
factor of selection in secondary education, educational,
moral, social, and vocational guidance.
The remaining sections of this chapter will deal with the
following six important functions of secondary education:
(1) the adjustive or adaptive function; (2) the integrating
76 PRINCIPLES OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
function; (3) the differentiating function; (4) the propae- deutic function; (5) the selective function; (6) the diagnostic
and directive function. Their relation to the aims of secondary
education will appear ijaore clearly from the following
discussion. 158. The adjustive or adaptive function. It is a postulate
of the social aim of secondary education that it should provide
means for the adjustment of the pupil to his social environment. In section 143 (Chapter IX) it was maintained
that the social environment to which the secondary-school
pupil is to be adjusted is dynamic, not static, and that the
rapidity of social change is so great as to warrant the assumption
that the social environment in which the present pupil
is later to live will in important respects differ from that of the present. The course of social evolution shows clearly
that for any one generation the total social organization
represents a composite of relatively stable and constant elements of the past and certain elements appropriate to the present. It also implies that the present social organization
comprises certain elements which may be expected to remain relatively stable and constant in the near future,
and others which we may confidently expect to be either
entirely lost or radically modified. This suggests that mere
adjustment through the development of relatively fixed habits of reaction is fairly adequate for those elements which
may be conceived as destined in all likelihood to remain
relatively unchanged in their essential characteristics within
the life of the present generation. It suggests also, however,
that adjustment alone (in the sense of the establishment of fixed habits of reaction) is insufficient, and that some capacity
for readjustment must be developed if the individual is to be prepared for the changing conditions which will in- evitably come during his life after the period of formal
education. In other words, the adjustive function of second-
IMS AND FUNCTIONS 377
ary education includes both the establishment of certain
fixed habits of reaction, certain fixed standards and ideals,
and also the development of a capacity to readjust adequately
to the changing demands of Me. Tempora mutantur,
el nos mutamur in illis, is true with regard to the times; it is true of iis only in a collective sense and to the extent that
readaptation is possible. 159. The integrating function. In section 144 (Chapter
IX) the bearing of the social factors of integration and differ- entiation on secondary education was discussed. It was there
pointed out that one of the imperative demands made by
society on the secondary school is provision for the development
of that amount of like-mindedness, of unity hi thought,
habits, ideals, and standards, requisite for social cohesion
and social solidarity. From this arises the integrating function
of secondary education, which in this country particularly
is constantly acquiring greater and greater importance
for a number of reasons. Among these may be mentioned
the following:
(1) The increasing complexity of life in a modern democracy
constantly increases the amount of common knowledge,
of common action, and common ideals necessary. The ele- mentary school is constantly becoming less and less adequate
for this need.
(2) The increasing heterogeneity of the population hi this country tends constantly to increase the diversity of social heredity and therefore to render the process of social inte- gration more necessary and more difficult. (3) The increasing diversity of industrial occupations and
of living conditions tends constantly to increase the forces of differentiation demanding increased forces of integration to balance and compensate.
(4) Other institutions which formerly operated as inte- grating agencies have been modified in such a way as to
78 PRINCIPLES OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
operate with diminished force in that direction or have
proved quite inadequate for that purpose under the changed
conditions of society: e.g., the Church and religion.
To conceive that the factor of integration is of importance
in connection with problems of "class distinction" only is an error. Important as those problems are for a democracy
they involve but a part only of a more fundamental problem
including other problems of social integration. 160. The differentiating function. The integrating function
must at all times be conceived as correlated with the
differentiating function of secondary education and the
relation between the two functions must be considered as supplemental rather than conflicting, the supplemental rela- tion being necessitated by the relation of the two factors of integration and differentiation in the process of social evolution.
As the integrating function of secondary education
arises out of the necessity of developing a certain amount of homogeneity out of the heterogeneous population for the
purpose of assuring social solidarity, so the differentiating
function of secondary education arises out of the necessity
of taking advantage of the differences among individuals for the purpose of determining social efficiency.
Two facts make this differentiating function in secondary
education both possible and necessary:
(1) Pupils in the secondary school (the raw material with
which secondary education must perforce deal and which
conditions its operation) differ greatly in native capacities,
in acquired tendencies (especially as conditioned by training
outside the school), in interests and aptitudes. Failure to recognize this fundamental fact at any time must inevitably mean failure to do justice to the individual and failure to develop the highest social efficiency out of the raw material
available.
(2) The diversified needs of modern industrial and social
IMS AND FUNCTIONS 379
life demand preparation for widely different forms of activity
which cannot be provided for all individuals. Moreover,
if such universal preparation were possible, it would be
extremely wasteful and undesirable. The differentiated
activities of life demand differentiated education, the burden
of which, as far as formal education is concerned, must be
borne by the secondary school. 161. The propaedeutic function. The propaedeutic function
of secondary education is merely one phase of the adjustive
function, having reference to a part only of secondaryschool
pupils those preparing to continue their formal
education in some higher institution. Preparation for such
higher education cannot be considered as a separate aim of secondary education. It must be considered, however, as a
legitimate function of secondary education in the case of those pupils whose preparation for the attainment of the
ultimate aims of education may be extended over a longer
period of time than that of the great majority. The general
aims of the education of such pupils remain the same aims
formulated above, namely, the social-civic aim, the economicvocational
aim, and the individualistic-avocational aim.
A number of factors, however, affect the attainment of those aims in the case of the pupils who will continue their formal education in some higher institution. A more intensive
and more extensive preparation for the social-civic activities is possible; preparation for vocational activities in
its direct and specific form is deferred; different forms of preparation for different modes of leisure are possible and
justified; a somewhat higher selection of pupils is common,
at least with reference to social and economic status. As the
activities of such pupils will "function" differently in life after the period of formal education, so must the function
of secondary education differ somewhat in the case of such
pupils.
80 PRINCIPLES OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
Common practice tends either to over-estimate or to underestimate
the propaedeutic function of secondary education. In the past this function has commonly received altogether too much attention, and the rather definite requirements of preparation for higher education have tended to overbalance
the whole economy of secondary education in this country
until it became the dominant aim of the secondary school instead of occupying its legitimate place as a contributing
function. On the other hand, the present revolt against such a domination of college preparation has in some cases led to a gross under-estimate of the importance of the propaedeutic
function of secondary education. This has already been dis- cussed in section 128, and requires no further consideration
here, except, perhaps, to recall the fact that secondaryschool
pupils destined to continue their formal education
in higher institutions comprise the largest roughly homogeneous
group of pupils in the public secondary school homogeneous in the sense that a complete secondary-school course may be mapped out for this group much more readily
than for any other group and in the sense that a rather
definite and tangible temporary goal may be set up for their education. Whatever be the particular form that the artic- ulation between secondary education and higher education
may eventually assume, it must be recognized that preparation
for higher education must be one of the legitimate
functions of secondary education. Nevertheless it must also be recognized that it is but one of a number of functions.
162. The selective function. Selection is a necessary
function of any form of education, the necessity arising from
the factor of individual differences which become an increas- ingly important factor as the course of education proceeds
higher and makes a greater demand on capacity. It was
pointed out in Chapter III that individuals differ widely in mental traits. In so far as those differences are due to the
IMS AND FUNCTIONS 381
limits of capacity set by nature and to rates of development
also determined by nature it is clear that, as education de- mands more and more capacity, with certain individuals the
limits of then* capacity are reached, or, what is more com- mon, the point is approached at which given possible
amounts of training produce results incommensurate with
the amount of teaching and learning energy expended, and
the point of diminishing returns is reached. No amount of training can ever equalize the abilities of individuals whose
native capacities differ to any marked degree. Hence selec- tion must inevitably be a function of secondary education.
The selective function of secondary education may be
viewed from two somewhat different but related aspects.
From one aspect selection is commonly considered as in- volving the elimination of those individuals who are unable
to meet the demands set. To this view little objection could
be raised, provided, and only provided, that the demands
set could be justified. In the past in this country and at present in some countries the demands set were largely
based on the assumption that ability and willingness to meet
the requirements of certain specified subjects of study with
limited range measure intellectual ability in general a
theory which itself rests on the further assumption that
either all desirable mental traits are involved hi the specific
subjects selected, or the improvement in the mental traits involved can be transferred to other material. Such a theory
is discussed in detail in later sections. For the present it is sufficient to state that the theory must certainly be greatly
modified and that it cannot justify emphasis on any small
number of subjects in the secondary school as affording
adequate training for all or as affording a training which is susceptible of unlimited transfer. In contrast to selection by elimination the second aspect
of the selective function of secondary education emphasizes
82 PRINCIPLES OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
selection by differentiation. Its justification rests on two
considerations: (1) that individuals differ in capacities, interests,
and the nature of environmental influences, those
differences appearing not in the sum total of mental traits,
but in the various mental traits as related to each other;
(2) that, within limits, training in various specific mental
traits or groups of traits is justified from a social viewpoint. In terms of psychology it assumes that different mental
traits are found in different individuals in different degrees. In terms of sociology it means that no one subject or group
of subjects can claim exclusive place in secondary education
and that different subjects or groups of subjects are equally
justified from the viewpoint of social economy. In terms of school practice it means that if a pupil lacks ability or inter- est in one field of study but possesses ability and interest in another, discrimination is justified, and, particularly in the
public secondary school, that pupil has a right to receive education in fields for which he possesses ability and interest. He cannot be deprived of the opportunity for education
because of inability or lack of interest in some officially
favored subject or subjects. 163. The diagnostic and directive function. A phase of the adjustive function, and one closely related to the selec- tive and differentiating functions, is the diagnostic and direc- tive function of secondary education. Social economy and
personal efficiency and happiness postulate that each indi- vidual, as far as may be possible, should do what he can best
do. The determination of what each pupil may best do and
what he may do with the greatest efficiency and happiness
cannot be accomplished unless he is brought into contact with a somewhat wide range of experiences, in large part
through studies in the secondary school. Hence the school must provide materials to acquaint the pupil with various
activities of life, must give him some opportunity to test
IMS AND FUNCTIONS 383
out and explore his capacities and interests, and must pro- vide some direction and guidance therefor. The mere offer- ing of various forms of instruction does not complete the
work of the secondary school. It must, as far as may be
possible, add to that function the function of exploring,
testing, diagnosing, and directing the education of the pupil.
It must permit the pupil to discover and test his own special
aptitudes and capacities, and must assist in that process
through a thoroughgoing system of educational guidance,
including educational guidance and direction in the narrower
sense, moral guidance, social guidance, physical guidance,
and vocational guidance.

Klippy

L E G E N D of

Age 31
Male
Disneyland
Seen December 4th, 2022
Posted February 19th, 2022
16,371 posts
17.4 Years
No longer a theory, but verified: Project MKUltra

CIA mind control testing where they would kidnap random citizens and experiment on them in various ways testing biological, chemical, and psychological effects on people. These tests included blistering agents, memory loss drugs, psychedelics, paralyzing agents, and plenty more. It's rumored they tested on children as well.

The Unibomber, Ted Kaczynski, was subjected to extreme stress tests under this project. So if the first part wasn't conspiratorial enough, there's that.

Alexander Nicholi

work hard, play hard

Age 25
Male
Research Triangle / Jakarta
Seen February 15th, 2023
Posted March 5th, 2021
5,498 posts
13.5 Years
Sadly, Inyotef, that's not really much of a conspiracy.

Just look here at the role of education being described by the famous educator Alexander Inglis in his 1918 book, "The Principles of Secondary Education"
6 basic functions of school as described by renown educator John Taylor Gatto
1) The adjustive or adaptive function.
Schools are to establish fixed habits of reaction to authority. This, of course, precludes critical judgment completely. It also pretty much destroys the idea that useful or interesting material should be taught, because you can't test for reflexive obedience until you know whether you can make kids learn, and do, foolish and boring things.

2) The integrating function.
This might well be called "the conformity function," because its intention is to make children as alike as possible. People who conform are predictable, and this is of great use to those who wish to harness and manipulate a large labor force.

3) The diagnostic and directive function.
School is meant to determine each student's proper social role. This is done by logging evidence mathematically and anecdotally on cumulative records. As in "your permanent record." Yes, you do have one.

4) The differentiating function.
Once their social role has been "diagnosed," children are to be sorted by role and trained only so far as their destination in the social machine merits - and not one step further. So much for making kids their personal best.

5) The selective function.
This refers not to human choice at all but to Darwin's theory of natural selection as applied to what he called "the favored races." In short, the idea is to help things along by consciously attempting to improve the breeding stock. Schools are meant to tag the unfit - with poor grades, remedial placement, and other punishments - clearly enough that their peers will accept them as inferior and effectively bar them from the reproductive sweepstakes. That's what all those little humiliations from first grade onward were intended to do: wash the dirt down the drain.

6) The propaedeutic function.
The societal system implied by these rules will require an elite group of caretakers. To that end, a small fraction of the kids will quietly be taught how to manage this continuing project, how to watch over and control a population deliberately dumbed down and declawed in order that government might proceed unchallenged and corporations might never want for obedient labor.

If you want the direct quotes from the book, you can find them in this direct copy and paste. They run from page 375 to roughly 387 if I recall correctly. (The PDF loads slow so please forgive me for any errors in that regard.)
Spoiler:
II. THE FUNCTIONS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
157. The functions of secondary education. For present
purposes the term "functions" is employed to designate
certain elements for which secondary education must pro- vide if the aims previously formulated are to be attained.
Those functions are determined in part by the nature of
society and in part by the nature of the pupils to be educated,
factors which in important ways condition the attainment
of the aims set. If we conceive of the aims of secondary
education as the ultimate goals which it is to attain we must
recognize that certain factors must be involved hi the at- tempt to reach those goals. Thus we may conceive of the
social-civic aim of secondary education as involving preparation
for efficient participation in social-civic life. Many
important functions are therein involved, e.g., means of adjusting the individual and his social environment, the
development of a "social mind" and social cohesion among
groups of individuals, the adjustment of individual differ- ences to the differentiated needs of society, control of the
factor of selection in secondary education, educational,
moral, social, and vocational guidance.
The remaining sections of this chapter will deal with the
following six important functions of secondary education:
(1) the adjustive or adaptive function; (2) the integrating
76 PRINCIPLES OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
function; (3) the differentiating function; (4) the propae- deutic function; (5) the selective function; (6) the diagnostic
and directive function. Their relation to the aims of secondary
education will appear ijaore clearly from the following
discussion. 158. The adjustive or adaptive function. It is a postulate
of the social aim of secondary education that it should provide
means for the adjustment of the pupil to his social environment. In section 143 (Chapter IX) it was maintained
that the social environment to which the secondary-school
pupil is to be adjusted is dynamic, not static, and that the
rapidity of social change is so great as to warrant the assumption
that the social environment in which the present pupil
is later to live will in important respects differ from that of the present. The course of social evolution shows clearly
that for any one generation the total social organization
represents a composite of relatively stable and constant elements of the past and certain elements appropriate to the present. It also implies that the present social organization
comprises certain elements which may be expected to remain relatively stable and constant in the near future,
and others which we may confidently expect to be either
entirely lost or radically modified. This suggests that mere
adjustment through the development of relatively fixed habits of reaction is fairly adequate for those elements which
may be conceived as destined in all likelihood to remain
relatively unchanged in their essential characteristics within
the life of the present generation. It suggests also, however,
that adjustment alone (in the sense of the establishment of fixed habits of reaction) is insufficient, and that some capacity
for readjustment must be developed if the individual is to be prepared for the changing conditions which will in- evitably come during his life after the period of formal
education. In other words, the adjustive function of second-
IMS AND FUNCTIONS 377
ary education includes both the establishment of certain
fixed habits of reaction, certain fixed standards and ideals,
and also the development of a capacity to readjust adequately
to the changing demands of Me. Tempora mutantur,
el nos mutamur in illis, is true with regard to the times; it is true of iis only in a collective sense and to the extent that
readaptation is possible. 159. The integrating function. In section 144 (Chapter
IX) the bearing of the social factors of integration and differ- entiation on secondary education was discussed. It was there
pointed out that one of the imperative demands made by
society on the secondary school is provision for the development
of that amount of like-mindedness, of unity hi thought,
habits, ideals, and standards, requisite for social cohesion
and social solidarity. From this arises the integrating function
of secondary education, which in this country particularly
is constantly acquiring greater and greater importance
for a number of reasons. Among these may be mentioned
the following:
(1) The increasing complexity of life in a modern democracy
constantly increases the amount of common knowledge,
of common action, and common ideals necessary. The ele- mentary school is constantly becoming less and less adequate
for this need.
(2) The increasing heterogeneity of the population hi this country tends constantly to increase the diversity of social heredity and therefore to render the process of social inte- gration more necessary and more difficult. (3) The increasing diversity of industrial occupations and
of living conditions tends constantly to increase the forces of differentiation demanding increased forces of integration to balance and compensate.
(4) Other institutions which formerly operated as inte- grating agencies have been modified in such a way as to
78 PRINCIPLES OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
operate with diminished force in that direction or have
proved quite inadequate for that purpose under the changed
conditions of society: e.g., the Church and religion.
To conceive that the factor of integration is of importance
in connection with problems of "class distinction" only is an error. Important as those problems are for a democracy
they involve but a part only of a more fundamental problem
including other problems of social integration. 160. The differentiating function. The integrating function
must at all times be conceived as correlated with the
differentiating function of secondary education and the
relation between the two functions must be considered as supplemental rather than conflicting, the supplemental rela- tion being necessitated by the relation of the two factors of integration and differentiation in the process of social evolution.
As the integrating function of secondary education
arises out of the necessity of developing a certain amount of homogeneity out of the heterogeneous population for the
purpose of assuring social solidarity, so the differentiating
function of secondary education arises out of the necessity
of taking advantage of the differences among individuals for the purpose of determining social efficiency.
Two facts make this differentiating function in secondary
education both possible and necessary:
(1) Pupils in the secondary school (the raw material with
which secondary education must perforce deal and which
conditions its operation) differ greatly in native capacities,
in acquired tendencies (especially as conditioned by training
outside the school), in interests and aptitudes. Failure to recognize this fundamental fact at any time must inevitably mean failure to do justice to the individual and failure to develop the highest social efficiency out of the raw material
available.
(2) The diversified needs of modern industrial and social
IMS AND FUNCTIONS 379
life demand preparation for widely different forms of activity
which cannot be provided for all individuals. Moreover,
if such universal preparation were possible, it would be
extremely wasteful and undesirable. The differentiated
activities of life demand differentiated education, the burden
of which, as far as formal education is concerned, must be
borne by the secondary school. 161. The propaedeutic function. The propaedeutic function
of secondary education is merely one phase of the adjustive
function, having reference to a part only of secondaryschool
pupils those preparing to continue their formal
education in some higher institution. Preparation for such
higher education cannot be considered as a separate aim of secondary education. It must be considered, however, as a
legitimate function of secondary education in the case of those pupils whose preparation for the attainment of the
ultimate aims of education may be extended over a longer
period of time than that of the great majority. The general
aims of the education of such pupils remain the same aims
formulated above, namely, the social-civic aim, the economicvocational
aim, and the individualistic-avocational aim.
A number of factors, however, affect the attainment of those aims in the case of the pupils who will continue their formal education in some higher institution. A more intensive
and more extensive preparation for the social-civic activities is possible; preparation for vocational activities in
its direct and specific form is deferred; different forms of preparation for different modes of leisure are possible and
justified; a somewhat higher selection of pupils is common,
at least with reference to social and economic status. As the
activities of such pupils will "function" differently in life after the period of formal education, so must the function
of secondary education differ somewhat in the case of such
pupils.
80 PRINCIPLES OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
Common practice tends either to over-estimate or to underestimate
the propaedeutic function of secondary education. In the past this function has commonly received altogether too much attention, and the rather definite requirements of preparation for higher education have tended to overbalance
the whole economy of secondary education in this country
until it became the dominant aim of the secondary school instead of occupying its legitimate place as a contributing
function. On the other hand, the present revolt against such a domination of college preparation has in some cases led to a gross under-estimate of the importance of the propaedeutic
function of secondary education. This has already been dis- cussed in section 128, and requires no further consideration
here, except, perhaps, to recall the fact that secondaryschool
pupils destined to continue their formal education
in higher institutions comprise the largest roughly homogeneous
group of pupils in the public secondary school homogeneous in the sense that a complete secondary-school course may be mapped out for this group much more readily
than for any other group and in the sense that a rather
definite and tangible temporary goal may be set up for their education. Whatever be the particular form that the artic- ulation between secondary education and higher education
may eventually assume, it must be recognized that preparation
for higher education must be one of the legitimate
functions of secondary education. Nevertheless it must also be recognized that it is but one of a number of functions.
162. The selective function. Selection is a necessary
function of any form of education, the necessity arising from
the factor of individual differences which become an increas- ingly important factor as the course of education proceeds
higher and makes a greater demand on capacity. It was
pointed out in Chapter III that individuals differ widely in mental traits. In so far as those differences are due to the
IMS AND FUNCTIONS 381
limits of capacity set by nature and to rates of development
also determined by nature it is clear that, as education de- mands more and more capacity, with certain individuals the
limits of then* capacity are reached, or, what is more com- mon, the point is approached at which given possible
amounts of training produce results incommensurate with
the amount of teaching and learning energy expended, and
the point of diminishing returns is reached. No amount of training can ever equalize the abilities of individuals whose
native capacities differ to any marked degree. Hence selec- tion must inevitably be a function of secondary education.
The selective function of secondary education may be
viewed from two somewhat different but related aspects.
From one aspect selection is commonly considered as in- volving the elimination of those individuals who are unable
to meet the demands set. To this view little objection could
be raised, provided, and only provided, that the demands
set could be justified. In the past in this country and at present in some countries the demands set were largely
based on the assumption that ability and willingness to meet
the requirements of certain specified subjects of study with
limited range measure intellectual ability in general a
theory which itself rests on the further assumption that
either all desirable mental traits are involved hi the specific
subjects selected, or the improvement in the mental traits involved can be transferred to other material. Such a theory
is discussed in detail in later sections. For the present it is sufficient to state that the theory must certainly be greatly
modified and that it cannot justify emphasis on any small
number of subjects in the secondary school as affording
adequate training for all or as affording a training which is susceptible of unlimited transfer. In contrast to selection by elimination the second aspect
of the selective function of secondary education emphasizes
82 PRINCIPLES OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
selection by differentiation. Its justification rests on two
considerations: (1) that individuals differ in capacities, interests,
and the nature of environmental influences, those
differences appearing not in the sum total of mental traits,
but in the various mental traits as related to each other;
(2) that, within limits, training in various specific mental
traits or groups of traits is justified from a social viewpoint. In terms of psychology it assumes that different mental
traits are found in different individuals in different degrees. In terms of sociology it means that no one subject or group
of subjects can claim exclusive place in secondary education
and that different subjects or groups of subjects are equally
justified from the viewpoint of social economy. In terms of school practice it means that if a pupil lacks ability or inter- est in one field of study but possesses ability and interest in another, discrimination is justified, and, particularly in the
public secondary school, that pupil has a right to receive education in fields for which he possesses ability and interest. He cannot be deprived of the opportunity for education
because of inability or lack of interest in some officially
favored subject or subjects. 163. The diagnostic and directive function. A phase of the adjustive function, and one closely related to the selec- tive and differentiating functions, is the diagnostic and direc- tive function of secondary education. Social economy and
personal efficiency and happiness postulate that each indi- vidual, as far as may be possible, should do what he can best
do. The determination of what each pupil may best do and
what he may do with the greatest efficiency and happiness
cannot be accomplished unless he is brought into contact with a somewhat wide range of experiences, in large part
through studies in the secondary school. Hence the school must provide materials to acquaint the pupil with various
activities of life, must give him some opportunity to test
IMS AND FUNCTIONS 383
out and explore his capacities and interests, and must pro- vide some direction and guidance therefor. The mere offer- ing of various forms of instruction does not complete the
work of the secondary school. It must, as far as may be
possible, add to that function the function of exploring,
testing, diagnosing, and directing the education of the pupil.
It must permit the pupil to discover and test his own special
aptitudes and capacities, and must assist in that process
through a thoroughgoing system of educational guidance,
including educational guidance and direction in the narrower
sense, moral guidance, social guidance, physical guidance,
and vocational guidance.
To be honest, if that's education, then I'm with Pink Floyd in torching it.

Also @Klippy I heard that lol
People don't know what they have, until it's gone... or not. They still think they have it. Their rights, right? Where did they disappear to?

For both of these things, we don't need no thought control. Be it education or torture, whatever. People are psyducking evil.
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the beat goes on (ノ^o^;)ノ
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Dawn

Queen of Magical Girls

She/Her
East Coast, USA
Seen 15 Hours Ago
Posted December 13th, 2022
4,594 posts
14.7 Years
I would agree with this. I am a history major and see that the US school systems pick apart history to favor obedience/pro US propaganda.
Why did they leave in the part where we (allegedly) slaughtered all the native Americans?

I mean, that kinda framed us in a really bad light yo.

Albeit, one of the first things my college taught me was that there is a significant amount of evidence to suggest English settlers were never involved in any 'slaughter' during the settling of America. So y'know. There's that. One of the things I can't fathom for the life of me is why our colleges are teaching us to unlearn the things our elementary/middle/high schools taught us.

There's probably a conspiracy theory to be found there, but I'm certainly not aware of it. >>
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twocows

The not-so-black cat of ill omen

Age 32
Male
Michigan
Seen February 19th, 2023
Posted April 30th, 2021
4,307 posts
14.2 Years
I'm sure at least a few popular conspiracy theories are true, but if you asked me about any individual one, I would react with skepticism. I think most real conspiracies aren't popular, probably because they're a lot more banal.

I think the education system is used to enslave people by taking away their ability to critical think. In childhood and adolescence you have a learning window that would often be filled with teachings on critical thinking, but what schools in the US are doing instead is supplying a blind obedience that looks like critical thinking to the unwary eye.

My experience is from being a schoolchild and also from being a child whose every issue with numerous schools have revolved around mine and my parent's refusal to do absurd things for the school simply because they say so. I really hope my children won't have to go through public education.
I think that varies strongly by school. The schools that I went to emphasized critical thought. My high school even had something of a philosophy class, though it wasn't really called that.
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Livewire

Male
Sunnyshore City
Seen December 3rd, 2022
Posted August 2nd, 2019
14,091 posts
13.8 Years
Why did they leave in the part where we (allegedly) slaughtered all the native Americans?

I mean, that kinda framed us in a really bad light yo.

Albeit, one of the first things my college taught me was that there is a significant amount of evidence to suggest English settlers were never involved in any 'slaughter' during the settling of America. So y'know. There's that. One of the things I can't fathom for the life of me is why our colleges are teaching us to unlearn the things our elementary/middle/high schools taught us.

There's probably a conspiracy theory to be found there, but I'm certainly not aware of it. >>
Weeeeeeellllll we did massacre native populations intermittently beginning in the colonial period, but more noticeably, up to the conclusion of the Indian Wars in 1880's:

Trail of Tears
Wounded Knee
Bear River Massacre
Sand Creek Massacre

And colleges sometimes have us unlearn things from our elementary school days because most of what you learn in grade school is utter bullmuk, like Christopher Columbus being a nice guy, etc. You don't get the specialization, factual accuracy, and depth on a topic (Say, Native American history) unless you take an upper level college course or two on it.

And even still, while the history books might mention the Wounded Knee Massacre and it's significance, it probably won't be too negative towards the U.S. How many history books covering Wounded Knee go into detail about how women and children were shot and mowed down in droves? Avoiding hard truths like that means that the whole truth isn't being told.

ShinyUmbreon189

VLONE coming soon

Age 31
Male
Chicago
Seen December 17th, 2022
Posted July 7th, 2019
1,461 posts
11.2 Years
I don't think those examples are even real. They seem fictional, to be honest. These guys didn't even have oil.
Who and what are you referring this to?


Not sure if it's a conspiracy theory of some sort or something irrelevant, but I feel it could be up for discussion. UN soldiers that are training for combat on American soil across 8 or so states. We all know how desperately Obama wants to disarm the country of firearms, so my belief is they are here to do door to door search and seizures eventually, as its known to be one of their training tactics. Why else would they be here with a problem as major as isis and our president being Muslim and doing anything even if it's corrupt to get his way? He's not black, we need to get that delusion out of our heads. He's Arab not African American, and his father is Arab. Obama has said on numerous occasions that he hates America. So If anyone has an explanation as to why they are here then state it. If you think they're here for protection then drop the bullmuk.

Her

Age 29
Seen 3 Hours Ago
Posted 1 Week Ago
Why else would they be here with a problem as major as isis and our president being Muslim and doing anything even if it's corrupt to get his way? He's not black, we need to get that delusion out of our heads. He's Arab not African American, and his father is Arab. Obama has said on numerous occasions that he hates America. So If anyone has an explanation as to why they are here then state it. If you think they're here for protection then drop the bullmuk.
Honey, Obama is black. His father was black. His grandfather was black. His entire family on his father's side is black. He is a Christian. Even if he was Muslim, his administration is so decidedly anti-Muslim that his personal faith would be negligible. I could go on, but I feel like you were one of the people who supported Donald Trump's persistent request for Obama's birth certificate.

Melody

Banned

Female
Cuddling those close to me
Seen March 4th, 2018
Posted March 2nd, 2018
6,459 posts
18.6 Years
Generally speaking; I don't really pay much mind to conspiracy theories. Normally by the time a certain position has reached the position of "Conspiracy" I've already researched into it enough to thoroughly debunk any any "conspiracy". Most conspiracy theories generally hinge on rather loose definitions of evidence and said evidence is normally pretty circumstantial and thin.

In any case though; if someone can provide solid evidence I might believe it. Might. I am usually skeptical of anything remotely sounding like a conspiracy most of the time, and I judge broad and wild claims very harshly; especially if the evidence does not meet my standard of trustworthiness or reliability. A lot of times politicians like to use conspiracies as scare tactics to drive voters into voting for them; or to call people to action. While this is perfectly fine and dandy when there's a legitimate threat to be concerned about, there is usually not any more "evil" or "corruption" than is normal for political offices.