#6: you gotta leave the library
This week, Justin and Robin ostensibly talk about learning. There is some banter about Battlestar Galactica that we level-headedly refrain from turning the entire show into, and then we talk some about why learning gets mistaken for schooling, and how not to be noisily average.
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Show Notes
Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich
A book that challenges a lot of deeply held beliefs about schools and institutions in general. Illich suggests that our ideas of what education really is are so influenced by what schools tell us it is that we don't believe we can find any true education outside of schoolroom doors. The institutionalization of society renders individual accomplishment so suspect that those who deviate from the educational norm are considered uneducated.
Rhyme's Reason by John Hollander
In his classic text Rhyme's Reason the distinguished poet and critic John Hollander surveys the schemes, patterns, and forms of English verse, illustrating each variation with an original and witty self-descriptive example.
Mario Savio Speech in Battlestar Galactica
Comparing Mario Savio's famous 1964 Berkeley speech with Galen Tyrol's pro-strike speech from the 2006 Battlestar Galactica episode "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II"
Where Should I Go to College? by Mark Edmundson
A critique of the modern state of the American university and high school. Edmundson describes two opposing kinds of university - the corporate city and the scholarly enclave. Neither of them exists in their pure forms, but there are varying amounts of each element in every school. Although it certainly is "not about what you know, but who you know," perhaps it's still important to, like, read books and stuff.
Bring on the learning revolution! by Ken Robinson
Ken Robinson has over a dozen TED talks about education, but this one particularly sticks out. He talks about how standardized education prevents students from unearthing their true talents, and why we need to stop ignoring that.
"Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" by WB Yeats
"Tread softly, for you tread on my dreams."
The UnCollege Manifesto by Dale Stephens
In which Dale Stephens, the founder of UnCollege, lays out his beliefs about college and why it's not only not necessary to be successful, but is a veritable breeding ground for normalcy and mediocrity.
Grad School - ART THOUGHTZ by Hennessy Youngman
"But why take out loans and enter into massive debt just so you’ll be able to hold up your end of a conversation at a creative time benefit? You know? That makes no sense, internet. But for $4.99, plus shipping and handling, I definitely think it’s worth it."
