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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Jack Whelan: Can Humanism Prevail Over the Technocracy? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Jack Whelan: Can Humanism Prevail Over the Technocracy? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:


Jack Whelan: Can Humanism Prevail Over the Technocracy?

Guest post by Jack Whelan.
[W]hat is at issue here is evaluating the danger of what might happen to our humanity in the present half-century, and distinguishing between what we want to keep and what we are ready to lose, between what we can welcome as legitimate human development and what we should reject with our last ounce of strength as dehumanization. I cannot think that choices of this kind are unimportant. --Jacques Ellul
I have come to look at schools as a critical focal point in the fight for the soul of the nation. Our schools are foundational for our cultural life, and so much depends on our having a flourishing, humanizing public-education system. The battle over the schools is a microcosm of the battle that is going on everywhere else, but which most people feel too powerless to fight. Maintaining local control of our public schools system is essential for