I don’t quite know about school and formal education as an answer anymore. With the imposition of student fees the rough edges are smoothed and, skipping out the door clutching a certificate like a Wonka Golden Ticket and into the bright world of work, the erstwhile student is confronted by years of loan repayment and low-paid internship. It would be far better to simply not repay, start a business, ignore the begging letters, I dunno. Of course, this is not an easy path to take. Autodidacticism would seem to be ideal but, again, this is tricky and requires self-discipline and isolation.
It seems the drift is towards a post-literate future. Emojis, speech-to-text, symbols replacing those bothersome words, screens and images. None of my younger colleagues at work read books.
This post-literate future doesn't look so different from my pre-literate past. The only change a class one: it is the middle classes who are losing their ability to read the hard stuff. Of course, this is going to have an enormous impact on Culture; the reason for panic in many circles.
Interestingly, what I think of as positive - the decline of the institutions - you appear to think - at least in principle - as a negative. You surprise me Sir Drift....
I particularly enjoyed the journey down the 20th century at St Fagan’s Museum in Cardiff. It made one of your key points on the power of reading eloquently. I was left asking if teachers have any potential impact or whether they are a barrier to the self directed learning you seek to inspire?
What a big question! This box, alas, is too small for my reply. A Moby Dick of an answer requires a piece in itself. It is already drifting in draft.... See you soon!
https://thedrift.substack.com/p/outside-the-castle
I don’t quite know about school and formal education as an answer anymore. With the imposition of student fees the rough edges are smoothed and, skipping out the door clutching a certificate like a Wonka Golden Ticket and into the bright world of work, the erstwhile student is confronted by years of loan repayment and low-paid internship. It would be far better to simply not repay, start a business, ignore the begging letters, I dunno. Of course, this is not an easy path to take. Autodidacticism would seem to be ideal but, again, this is tricky and requires self-discipline and isolation.
It seems the drift is towards a post-literate future. Emojis, speech-to-text, symbols replacing those bothersome words, screens and images. None of my younger colleagues at work read books.
This post-literate future doesn't look so different from my pre-literate past. The only change a class one: it is the middle classes who are losing their ability to read the hard stuff. Of course, this is going to have an enormous impact on Culture; the reason for panic in many circles.
Interestingly, what I think of as positive - the decline of the institutions - you appear to think - at least in principle - as a negative. You surprise me Sir Drift....
It is certainly the midwiit class. It’s so bloody sad that this should be so.
Thing is, brother, I don’t care. I continue to read.
The decline of the institutions means nothing to me.
Only thing is that I continue to read,
Mate, I am not in panic or alarm. I have no interest in the institutions. I simply read.
I particularly enjoyed the journey down the 20th century at St Fagan’s Museum in Cardiff. It made one of your key points on the power of reading eloquently. I was left asking if teachers have any potential impact or whether they are a barrier to the self directed learning you seek to inspire?
It has taken ages, but at last I answer the question: https://outsidethecastle.substack.com/p/guru-or-teacher
What a big question! This box, alas, is too small for my reply. A Moby Dick of an answer requires a piece in itself. It is already drifting in draft.... See you soon!