Should education serve business? LO6381

GaltJohn22@aol.com
Tue, 2 Apr 1996 23:09:12 -0500

Replying to LO6354 --

In a message dated 96-04-02 21:46:28 EST, you write:

>Let's distinguish between the advanced training represented by MBAs, JDs
>and the like, and general education at the K-12 and college levels. The
>former serves the interests of the users of the training (businesses, law
>firms, etc.), while the latter serves a much more general societal
>purpose. I hope we haven't become so narrowly business oriented that we
>have lost sight of the fact that business is only one element in the
>complex system in which we live.

What is this implicit assumption that "businesses, law firms, etc." are
not "...societal..."? Who does not gain their livlihood from a business?
If I substitute the word organization for business I can say "none of us"
and actually I can say none without that thin substitution since without
businesses no other organization would exist. Even the individual or
family is in the BUSINESS of at least surviving (breaking even) but I
don't know of a single individual or family which oesn't actually want to
make a profit (surivival + making things better) so we are all in business
I's say.

It is PRECISELY the ill-founded belief that business and societal are
different things that is the entire problem we have with the worst
performing educational system on earth (results/$) and causes inumerable
other problems - IMHO.

Hal Popplewell
GaltJohn22@aol.com

-- 

GaltJohn22@aol.com

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