I think we should focus on making literature more accessible This could be done in two ways: Accessibility of reading/understanding literature. Accessibility of creating/publishing literature. I am personally interested in illiteracy and how much people are missing out on literature due to it. Usually illiteracy is caused by a few factors: Learning disability (aw man, the toughest one!) Lack of linguistic stimulation/books to read ESL(english as second language) Poverty/lack of education There is a lot more, but these are the most common. The reason why I am interested in this is because the ability to read/write doesn’t really affect someone’s talent in literature. Read the book Push. It’s really gnarly and sad, but it’s real I’m pretty sure everyone is thinking about libraries right now, and I’m about to talk about that So public libraries are detrimental to eradication of illiteracy; Not only do they provide books but they also provide an environment where kids can ask and get help when they don’t have anyone at home who can do that. Gen Z Needs Public Libraries this guy said it well, but its long as hell so listen to it when you knit or smth HOWEVER…The problem is that current public libraries are severely understaffed, underfunded, and just in shitty shape(but the people there are working extremely hard! I go to my local library all the time.) Also, has anyone seen the amount of programs they have???They are amazing!! These programs are literally the lifeblood of kids who cannot afford shiny expensive tutoring, not to mention the neurodivergent specific ones too. So the conclusion is this: Public libraries can help with a variety of issues that lead to illiteracy.
Perhaps there is nothing more morbid than education. Yes, it is the basis of modern society, and it is definitely liberation and power to many. However, that is learning, not education. Education, by definition, is a passive process. We are educated. We “receive” an education, as if it is some sort of spoon fed baby food devoid of texture or spice, predigested and dead. Additionally, what we deem as an important role of education is mainly just the outcome of learning. Sure, basic things we need for life such as reading and being able to count are very important outcomes of educated learning, but everything else that we learn afterwards tell a different story.
Education is the process of receiving systematic instructions from an institution, according to Merriam webster. We have been fine with this process ever since the industrial revolution, when the tendency to industrialise human intellect started. Anyone incapable of following the systematic instructions could be deemed defectant, dumb, and ditched. This is completely reasonable, really. We throw away broken brains the same way we give up broken printers; if you can’t copy, then sorry for your efforts but we just can’t help you anymore.
This should be making anyone reading this uncomfortable, as it really is; an ideology the most similar to this is fascism. The basis of fascism is authoritarianism, and if something that is so intrinsically passive doesn’t sound authoritarian, I don't know what is. Education(at least current) distils the extremely natural process of learning into a pre-digested meal replacement and is fed to us like those french ducks raised to eat their livers. In a way, we technically are ducks. Capitalism profits off education; we are educated to provide profit and we educate more to do the same.
You would probably be wondering why I seem to have such an avid hate for current education. I in fact, do not; I have nothing against education, just that nobody is changing the purpose of it after 200 years. We are still using the same definition and objectives of education as we did 200 years ago. We are still the printer, the product, and some of us sell our livers to profit. Some of us, including myself, are labelled a dunce, an idiot and a basket case.
The majority of my life I was told pejoratives and simultaneously compliments so high that it contained one. I was incapable of doing simple maths while acing most of the maths well above my grade level. I simply could not listen to a lecture and write down notes, which is something that I still struggle with and are criticised for. But I also answered every question that the teacher brought up, so much so that my teacher asked me to stop. Little did she know, as soon as I stopped raising my hand, my hands would wander and start doodling on the book; I was told to stand in the hallway for the fourth time I drew during a lecture.
Last summer, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This made me realise that there are more people with similar experience as me, and it angered me. I could not believe that even though there is a full diagnosis for these type of students, there were no kinds of alternative learning methods. The word “learning disability” fundamentally judges us as incapable of learning, shutting us up from complaints. But what I have learned from my experiences of being an idiot savant is that we are far from it. It's not a learning disability, we are just terrible students. We are unteachable, not unlearnable; we have an educational disability, not a learning one.
I wish to make up for our inability to be taught with our ability to learn. I want to make some sort of learning/study material for people like me(especially maths) so they can learn without being taught. I needed it as a kid, so must some kids right now.