How School Destroys Democracy
A Bitter Lesson in Learned Helplessness
The word “meritocracy” was first used as satire to encourage “reflection upon the folly of a meritocratic life.” (I’m not making this up.)
Now, particularly in school, the “winners” view school as a pure merit system. Non-school influences are ignored, wealthy families cluster into better schools, and hiring managers preferentially select from this pool.
This is carbon-monoxide for a democracy.
Odorless. Colorless. Deadly.
But there is something more dangerous.
The “losers” face two traps that are a PUBLIC poison for our society.
The first is that many “losers” accept their place, believing they lost to a superior opponent. As rational beings, they eventually quit trying. These become newly minted “Learned Helpless.” A TRAGIC consequence for a society that needs all hands on deck.
The Other Losers
But the others — a growing group — attribute their loss to a rigged game. These face a more sinister fate. These fall into victimhood thinking and grow embittered. I can’t blame them. Having sat on 9 educational boards from Prek thru university, they are right; the game is rigged.
These individuals are easily led astray by those who USE the embittered to further their personal ambitions.
And THAT, my friends, is a powder keg in a smoke shop.
The implications of our broken education system go well beyond college and career.
It goes to the very core of our democracy.
