E5: American Education w Special Guest Jolie Lansdowne
E5 Introduction
Today’s topic is one of my favorites: the state of American education or lack thereof. Before we get to our interview, which is the 2nd half of our short interview with King Co Chairwoman Jolie Lansdowne, you will here us fade into that discussion as we already aired the first part of this in Episode #2.
I thought it was perfect to read a couple of quotes from one of my favorite writers in Education reform, the 2 x NYC Teacher of the Year and author, the legendary John Taylor Gatto. A teacher as beloved by his students as any you will ever see.
“I‘ve noticed a fascinating phenomenon in my thirty years of teaching: schools and schooling are increasingly irrelevant to the great enterprises of the planet. No one believes anymore that scientists are trained in science classes or politicians in civics classes or poets in English classes. The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders. This is a great mystery to me because thousands of humane, caring people work in schools as teachers and aides and administrators, but the abstract logic of the institution overwhelms their individual contributions. Although teachers to care and do work very, very hard, the institution is psychopathic — it has no conscience. It rings a bell and the young man in the middle of writing a poem must close his notebook and move to a different cell where he must memorize that humans and monkeys derive from a common ancestor.”
And this one: “Whatever an education is, it should make you a unique individual, not a conformist; it should furnish you with an original spirit with which to tackle the big challenges; it should allow you to find values which will be your roadmap through life; it should make you spiritually rich, a person who loves whatever you are doing, wherever you are, whomever you are with; it should teach you what is important, how to live and how to die.”
I will be doing a deeper dive on Education and our future on this show in the near future. For now, let‘s go get our guest’s thoughts and insights on this important topic.
Jolie Lansdowne Bio
My guest today is Jolie Lansdowne. Jolie was elected and serves as the King County GOP Chairwoman. Jolie is a a wife and mother (who homeschooled kids for 20 years), a local business owner, and a woman who believes that engagement in local government is one of the most effective ways we can impact positive change for our next generation. Here is my interview with Jolie Lansdowne.