Stiching at Elna

I had quite an intense discussion over what should be taught at schools. What is the objective in education? What emerged were more questions: is education merely a tool to steer people into industrial models in order to develop obedient, compliant, efficient, prosumers? Or is its task to grow and develop humans, with individuality, spirituality, ethics and ‘fullness’ (?) of being?

How does one express ones “fullness” of being with out money, with out functioning within the greater society? And surely education can provide the means to integrate and contribute?

How does one make money, function within society, without being compassionate, caring for others and the greater ecological whole? Surely education can provide integrative methods of learning where skills and techniques are developed with appropriate ethical attitudes?

Conversation about FET colleges and Learnerships; Learnerships replaced apprenticeships. There is an apparent exploitation of learners following this route. Companies use the learners as cheap/free labour (I understand that the learners are being paid by the government) and no skills are being taught. The conversation was with someone working with a NGO addressing these issues.

I have reflected on this; my father apprenticed as a builder, and his apprentice took 5 years. The earlier stages of his apprentice he was probably a labourer. He learned his trade from the very bottom up.

I have heard that it is now possible to become a brick layer/builder after a month course.