Dreams
Education: Back to the future Geran Jones urges schools to avoid producing ‘useful idiots’ or members of ‘the useless class’ This year marks the centenary of the Bolshevik revolution. It was an era of political crisis, fools’ gold and slogans. The Soviet communist party ran two mass circulation newspapers: Pravda (Truth) and Izvestiya (News). The old joke ran that in the Soviet Union, where propaganda reigned supreme, there was no ‘truth’ in ‘news’ and no ‘news’ in ‘truth’. A consideration of the political situation in the West today invites ominous echoes of 1917. The rise in populism is fired by fake news, alternative facts and appeals to emotional, rather than rational, response. Intolerance of contrasting opinions, the denigration of facts and expert knowledge, the peddling of alternative truths, all show a disdain for reality, sincerity and political responsibility. Similarly, a demagogic outburst recently belittled the separation of powers in the state. As Montesquieu noted, checks and balances are necessary to stop power being concentrated excessively in one branch of government. An independent judiciary is the cornerstone of British democracy and should not be tempered or tampered with for the sake of short term political expediency. Demagogy and nationalism find their voice through complicit media outlets. What sells newspapers or increases the popularity of social media posts is a clear preference for the particular and the divisive rather than the general and the unifying. The role of the media, including social media, evinces still the prerogative of the harlot; the shunning of responsibility is exerting a deeply corrosive effect on society. This landscape makes it essential that today’s teenagers assume an engaged role, not just be passive consumers of news or information. If they are not actively reflecting on bias or questioning the accuracy in reporting, there is a real danger of being misled or manipulated. This is where education is key: a liberal education, one which develops awareness and selfawareness, will help prevent young people from becoming the ‘useful idiots’ of tomorrow. Marx may no longer be in fashion, nor indeed may any ideology other than that of the marketplace. This, and our rapidly changing way of life, presents very real challenges for schools and the way they function. Schools form a community in which common values are espoused and knowledge and skills are developed in a common curriculum. Yet schools have to contend with the atomisation of tastes and views through the internet that undermines this communality. The dominance of consumption and advertising promotes ego and opportunism, rather than team spirit and altruism. The challenge for schools is to develop the individual’s understanding of him/herself, his/her poise and adequacy in coping with challenges in real situations. Isolation, smartphones and screens encourage young people to turn in on themselves, rather than engage with others. The need for schools to develop in pupils resilience, emotional intelligence and moral certainties has never been as great, in a world in which boundaries
between public and private spheres, between the objective and the subjective have become blurred, whilst most ‘personal’ interaction takes place via a digital screen. Liberal market globalisation has led to a culture of standardisation and measurement as an objective ideal, the added value. This may make for more efficient firms and schools, but there needs to be consideration of how the culture of protocols and policies can be enhanced to allow for discretion and pragmatism. After all, these contribute to the formation of the British temperament and character.
A consideration of the political situation in the West today invites ominous echoes of 1917. The place and function of education will further be brought into focus by changes in society which are already in train. It is widely assumed that development of artificial intelligence and robotisation will change the employment landscape and erode many jobs. Lord Skidelsky, for example, noted that ‘credible estimates suggest it will be technically possible to automate between a quarter and a third of all current jobs in the western world within 20 years’. While it is easy to assume that humans with technical skills will be the most employable in the future and that there will always be a need for engineers, scientists and computer programmers, the opposite may be true. A good number of jobs in the future could well be those that specialize in social and emotional intelligence. Thus, there remains a compelling case why the humanities should remain at the heart of education. Managing people well demands empathy. Political, social and technological changes suggest that we might be living in an ‘age of permanent revolution’. Former certainties have been eroded, and it falls to schools to resist the dictatorship of social media and utilitarianism which have come to threaten young people’s sense of security, well-being and outlook. Mental and intellectual adaptability must go hand in hand with grounding in the humanities: an acquaintance with complex literary language and an awareness of history and culture have traditionally been one of the liberating influences for the self, as well as an encouragement to critical thinking and creativity: an excellent preparation for adult life. With visionary planning, schools can do their utmost to guard against ‘the rise of the useless class’ amongst the next generation. Geran Jones teaches at Westminster School
Autumn 2017
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