Discussion of all things related to Public Domain

[Anatoly Volynets <av AT total-knowledge.com>]

Hi Tom and All,

It is a case, when "Better late than never".

On Sun, 11 Jul 2004, tom poe wrote:

: We're in the middle of the lazy, hazy days of summer, but that shouldn't
: stop us from ruminating.  I need you all to trash the following, and
: then, after destroying my beautiful masterpiece, help me put it back
: together in a meaningful way.  The idea is to present an argument for
: restating the importance of the Arts in our schools.  If we can
: formulate a successful point on this issue, then we can build on it for
: presenting our case for community-based recording studios:
: 
: Down through the Ages, children were given instruction in all the
: disciplines necessary to contribute to a society's culture as adults.
: The ability to read, write, and work with numbers were considered
: critical.

It is only starting from approximately 1652, after the project of
contemporary school was introduced by Jan Amos Komensky. The announced
goal of new "Enlightenment" school was to equally educate all children in
the absolute truth represented by positive science (math, physics,
geography). The construction of that school was essentially conveyor (thus
it was prior art for Ford's assembly line :)

However, it is quite obvious that modern challenge for education is to
provide creative, responsible, thinking individuals rather than skillful
loyal workers. Later qualities were real objective of the "School of 
Enlightenment", while former can be brought up by arts rather than 
science.

: Also, important, but not as critical, were instructions in
: the Arts, as they lended themselves to stimulating the society to
: progress (as the term was used by our country's framers).
:

Today it is not just about "stimulating of progress" but about entire life
in all its dimensions. Dialogue and creativity are the most essential
features, requested by modern society, and these qualities are propagated
by arts.

: Today, there is a growing acceptance that the Arts are all but
: irrelevant in our schools, as they can be taught in other ways,
: besides through a school curriculum of classwork.  This thinking, of
: course, is flawed.  The advocates of eliminating the Arts from school
: often resort to a logic that technology and the world, today, provides
: far greater exposure to the Arts for children throughout our society,
: thus reducing the need to include instruction formally in school.
: Such logic is, of course, dangerous to society, and culture.
:

No doubt. We can question methods of instruction, but cannot frivolously 
give arts up, which does happen in reality.  

: If technology and the progress of our society has reached a level that
: no longer requires formal instruction in the Arts, which, everyone
: knows, is the engine of progress, are we not then, shutting down the
: engine of progress?  Or, to put it another way, if we don't force-feed
: our children on the Arts, and provide that foundation for them, will
: they voluntarily seek it out in today's technology and society?
: 

"Instruction" in arts can be organized in very different ways, not
necessarily by lecturing and formal training like it is understood for the
last 300 something years. Still, whatever methods are, it is necessary.

: A quick trip through the SAT scores of our children bears witness to
: the answer.  If we then carry this flawed logic further, let's imagine
: our society reaches a point where it seems nonsensical to force-feed
: our children with the ability to work with numbers.  After all, our
: world is rapidly becoming computerized, and the need to work with
: numbers is not nearly as critical as it used to be.  Or, what about
: writing?  Heck, computers can lead the way, eh?
:

Reading/writing is already in question. Just ask first 10 people you meet 
today if they LIKE read and write. I believe that contemporary education 
has to revrse some fundamental trends and try to educate students in math, 
reading and writing as if these were arts.

: So, what kind of culture shall we strive for?  Do we want a society
: that enjoys communicating with phrases, words, but not formal
: sentences?  How about counting?  How about appreciation for music?
: Art?  Literature?  Is there going to be something called a "Classic"
: song, book, painting in the year 2050?  Will our country be known
: worldwide for its authors, painters, musicians?  Scientists,
: politicians?

Forget it. Look at "Great Britain". Here we reach beyond education only.  
It is about monster of intellectual property, which directly kills culture
in all its appearances.

:
: The answer is right in our faces.  Name a "Classic" song that was
: created after the big jump in copyright nonsense of 1976.
: 

Hopefully (near)future generations will study this closely without
prejudices. It is my understanding that copyright nonsense has been
nonsense all along, that is since 1771. BTW, patent nonsense was not less
nonsense than the copyright one. The only reason I am not that much
concerned with patents is that they just slow down technology progress,
while copyrights badly damage humanity itself.

Anatoly Volynets
http://www.total-knowledge.com
http://www.culturedialogue.org