The Social Conditioning Problem

[speculumphilosophi]

As a quick example, some people in France are rioting over standards of education in schools and institutions. It's clear only a percentage of the huge unrest is actually linked to that issue, but let's take just that issue in isolation:
How can it be people totally depend upon society for education?
I can honestly state pretty much all my knowledge to date never came from any classroom, school or institution. In fact, I did very badly at school, especially due to initial learning disability.
The truth is there's no rule of evolution that binds us to state regulated education. A good initial step to explore that reality is to watch the philosophical film (written by Bruce Lee) The Silent Flute.
Social conditioning is the impact of environment and culture on our thinking. The accepted views of any majority tend to permeate the individual, restricting independent analytical, critical thought. Academia is saturated by social bias, where history is either ignored, or re-interpreted to fit with modern elitist policy and social trends. The same thing happens on Social Media. Countless "experts" with huge numbers of followers usually lack any genuine, hard-earned credentials in their field. Instead, they rely upon the norms of social programming, ingrained from earliest school experience.
Even if educational institutions deteriorate, we really don't have to take that as the last word.
The one essential ingredient we need to become smarter, better informed, analytical is summed up in one word: "Curiosity". Einstein quoted it as the only factor that set him apart. Mostly today it's missing except in children, whose innate curiosity gets eroded by social conformism and imposed, quasi religious thinking.

 

[Morell]

School is indoctrination system with side-effect of teaching you something. Reading, writing, counting are essential. The rest has various value and use. (bad that music was dropped, as other arts that develop the soul and discipline)

But that's not new. Catholic church supported free education here when protestants were getting big. Jesuits started free schools and accepted protestants too, because it allowed them to turn those kids into Catholics. After industrial revolution the schools became tools tot rain workers, thinking that they know a lot, but cannot use it anyhow and being psychologicaly trained to be controlled by the bell, just like in the factory.

Education itself is very useful and essential. Schools however are loosing that value. They socialize, they teach reading and writing (when not in USA, apparently) they teach math which is bloody important. But beyond that we need some completely new system of education. Most of education people use they now get outside of school. That itself is evidence of that.