the END of public education

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051 - The Mainstream Media: Parrots On the Shoulders of Pirates

School News! # 4b
Msnbc_alisonstewart-big
2010 Jul 17 12.74 MB 00:31:46s
Alternative content
Schoolnews This episode is part of the School News! series.

Synopsis

“Our views on teens are largely determined by the powerful messages our media sources and thought leaders feed us daily: teens are reckless, incompetent, and violent; young people need to be sheltered; childhood should be extended as long as possible. Our views can reasonably be conceived of as a kind of irrational prejudice programmed by our culture – almost precisely the kind that mainstream Americas bore towards women and blacks until very recent times.”
-Robert Epstein, author of The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult In Every Teen

Show Notes

Most of this show was my original attempt to begin the Kids Are Not Defective Series, but it just turned into a rant about the mainstream media.

A couple months ago I decided to watch a little cable news. MSNBC to be precise. They were running a story/series called “V Is For…Violence.” It focused on the inability of adolescents to handle the stimulation they get from the technology of today.

From Scientific American:
Bully or Victim? More Similar Than We Might Think

Bowling For Columbine
Michael Moore interviews Marilyn Manson

The case against adolescence: rediscovering the adult in every teen
By Robert Epstein


Comments

Your comment on how "The news is for old people" was spot on. I recently did the experiment of watching CNN for a bit just to pay attention to the commercials and was struck by the high percentage of ads for pills, law firms, insurance, and other things that... the previous generations would like.
Experts say listening to School Sucks Podcasts has the following side effects: critical thinking skills, the ability to detect and disprove myths and superstitious beliefs, an understanding of what school really "teaches" children, and the abiility to detect these "teachings" within yourself. If you or someone you know begins to exhibit any of these side effects, please share and communicate these ideas with others as much as possible.
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