Question 5: You’ve spent your life as an educator thinking about how to edify minds. We now find ourselves in a culture where our public education institutions are failing us, in that what we are quantitatively testing students for isn’t making them wise or good critical thinkers. These types of values and modes of thought commonly passed along in tribal communities are absent in our modern public education system.
What in your view is missing/wrong in modern compulsory education that accounts for these deficiencies, and what changes can be made to provide more of a framework for manifesting an authentic spiritual base you mentioned before, along with a critical mind for being able to tear apart poor argumentation? Further, part of the turn off of public schooling institutions for many people, such as myself, was that it was compulsory and institutions seem to fail students who don’t like things forced upon them even when they may greatly enjoy learning. How does an education system strike a balance between giving students freedom in their education while also teaching what is essential?
Richard Oxman:One of the major problems with the “success” achieve through those labor efforts, by the way, has to do with the strikers not having embraced a concern over how radical the changes must be in each and every classroom (regardless of the subject being taught). With all of the vast coverage — even on alternative media outlets — I haven’t come across any references to how the “demands” of the teachers did not include an insistence upon a radical restructuring of content. I do realize that being able to secure smaller class sizes and a backing up from excessive testing both open a window of opportunity respecting content change, but I didn’t see any words demonstrating a commitment to that, let alone a commitment that was radical in nature.
Corporate take over — well documented already — of classroom ‘cross the board, on all levels nationwide, from grade school through post-graduate study, is greatly responsible for the pathetic state of education today. It’s horrendous how so many of those “successful” striking educators have allowed things like trade-offs in the educational realm. One example among many is the common agreement to accept high tech gadgetry for a promise to distribute (corporate) self-serving literature among students; in many places the U.S. military has gotten its rotten foot in the door by offering “gifts” which are hard to turn down by educators pressed for resources, facing dwindling funding.
Kids don’t need school. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that parents should recoil in horror at the very notion of subjecting their children these days to the “care” of educators who have bought into The System hook, line and sinker. It’s a stinker to High Heaven to see parents who have previously served in the armed forces — and should know better by now, one would think — handing their offspring over to the Military. Our version of “God Save the Queen” should be severely criticized in the educational realm, which virtually none of those striking teachers are prepared to do, not wanting to risk their (now improved) incomes and benefits; they wouldn’t have seriously considered such a radical stance previously, of course. Get your children out of school, I say! Even if they’re encouraging youngsters to read and take seriously Wilfred Owen’s poetry, his beautiful anti-war work.
STEM programs are, arguably, the worst. Whether or not they are hosted by public or private schools. Science and Technology taught along lines which essentially say that one should create new products if one can come up with something fresh and useful no matter what the consequences should be verboten But it’s not forbidden, that mantra, it’s advocated up the wazoo. For instance, most people don’t know that if one used the population density of Manhattan as a base, it would be possible to build structures in Texas so that the entire population of the planet at present could be fit into that state. But no on in their right mind would go for using the area for that purpose. Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. However, the mantra mentioned is not just popular, it’s absolutely worshiped in Silicon Valley, which is virtually in my backyard in California here, spilling its values all over the Central Valley, where farmers and others are losing employment as a function of their “success.” Oh, almost forgot, I heard today that the first flying cars should be coming off the assembly line within three years; that should never be allowed take off, yes? Yes. Imagine what would come down (aside from the cars themselves)… even if a law were put into place which said that drivers couldn’t fly and use cell phones simultaneously.
Critical thinking? Let’s not kid ourselves any longer. The dumbing down is quite intentional, and that can be documented for anyone, upon request; it would be an honor and very satisfying to share the definitive documentation which shows exactly how there’s a parallel between the corporate take over of our airwaves and the corporate take over of education. The powers do not want folks to increase their ability to think critically. Rather — for obvious reasons — it’s to their advantage for the vast majority of the general public to get more and more stupid. At least… ignorant, the former having to do with not wanting to know the truth about anything, the latter simply being not knowing something. Corporate media outlets went from being run by around 50 different owners in the 80s to half that in the 90s, and today we’ve got about six who run the whole show. And each and every one of those outlets make sure that they reinforce what’s “taught” in the schools. That is, the value of indigenous thinking is severely omitted or underplayed, as is authentic spirituality of any kind. And a utilitarian mentality — a logical positivist attitude which is totally self-serving for the individual student — is encouraged. It leads to the worst excesses, as per what just hit the headlines with overly-compensated celebrities paying something like $6.5 million under the table to illegally get their children into schools, etc. while others get left with unconscionable debts, or get “left out” entirely… without a second thought brought forth by the “educators” on the take, who make the whole cheating scandal possible.
What’s wrong with education today? Aside from what I’ve mentioned there’s almost too much to mention. In Science and Technology there’s no serious questioning of the downsides of high tech gadgetry, the proliferation of the production of plastics, the degree to which air pollution (from automobiles) kills more people that diseases like AIDS, malaria and a number of others put together, and so on and so on and so on. And so on. Plus, everyone is on the run, precluding any in-depth exchange even if someone manages to broach such matters. I remember reading not too long ago how students now make their visits to college instructors very brief, and so I did a poll of my own on that issue. The results were astounding in Sacramento County, San Joaquin County and “progressive” Santa Cruz County in California. The kids, as a rule, were in and out of offices so quickly you’d think they had to hurriedly get to a old-fashioned phone booth — finding one first! — so that they could put on their Superman cape. And when they did talk for a bit longer than the average almost all talk was with a purely utilitarian plane.
What is essential? Virtually nothing that’s being taught at present, which is not truly acknowledging the the Great Teacher Mother Nature is losing its species in record fashion. What kind of “education” is that? Yes, there are pockets of select demographics within given schools which are directly addressing that both in terms of applying necessary tourniquets and dealing with the sources of our societal bleeding vis-a-vis the environment. I’m not unaware of that. But what those folks are unaware of is the degree that their work and passion must be passed on to the vast majority of other academically-bound souls post haste. There’s no sense of authentic urgency, though, even among the “exceptions” I’ve cited.
One of the Beyond Curious aspects of my activism in the educational realm since 2004 has to do with the fact that no teachers or administrators or colleagues of theirs have given me the time of day to talk about any of this. Even when I’m offering everything but the kitchen sink, as an experienced, highly educated concerned citizen as a volunteer with singular resources to donate. What’s up with that? That’s a closed door in my book. My unrequited outreach to date has been so disgusting to my loved ones that they have made it very clear that they don’t want to hear about any more of my routine rejections. And so I’ve been forced — out of consideration of their understandable complaint — to make sure that if someone does telephone me that I put off talking until they’re not within earshot.
I’d like to end on a positive note, however. What can be done? The only thing to do, for starters, is to continue to try to bond with a single educator, and to attempt in solidarity, then, to plant seeds together of some kind. To proceed, perhaps, as I am doing, having a Big Picture game plan in mind, but understanding that to make it fly — in education and across the board — it will be necessary to initially confirm that one is on the same page with, say, an educator who is presently working within The Ugly, Reprehensible System… to undermine the status quo and the horrid momentum in gear. I very recently made contact with Dr. Mark Skidmore from Michigan State University, and he’s promised to call me no later than next week to give me a chance to delineate the “game plan” I’m advocating. If anyone wants to secure a decent introduction to Dr. Skidmore, I recommend that they tune into his recent exchange on the Corbett Report, which shows how disgusted he is with the Pentagon not being able to account for TRILLIONS of dollars in their very first audit conducted by the Office of the Inspector General. That could be a great point of departure, his attitude, for working out a way to transform at least some of the teaching at MSU. And from there one has to believe that there’s the potential for influencing others. Of course, pulling youngsters out of those prisons would be the ideal scenario, home schooling them one way or another, properly preparing them for the future, which would include a radical shift concerning self-centered thinking, consumerism, the value of arts and free-wheeling imagination, and much more.
Oh yes, I should sneak in one more negative note. That is, educators don’t seem to acknowledge that everything from bullying to racism on and off their campuses is associated significantly with our abominations overseas.
Question 6: When people face disease and the awareness of our own mortality it often causes them to become increasingly introspective. The realization of the very finite amount of time we have on this temporal plane becomes a glaring reality. As you deal with cancer yourself, have you found the mental triage of what captures your waking awareness changing and if so what thoughts or activities do you find yourself prioritizing? And when it comes to prioritizing what is important do you have any message to the young in this world as to how to best spend the time they have when many may in fact face shorter lives due to our pressing ecological situation.
Richard Oxman: I’ve always been deeply introspective, but there’s been a new depth that’s kicked in ever since I got the news in the ER about Stage IV metastasized Colon Cancer. I was at peace with the whole enchilada at once, and was ready to simply go with the approximately six-months that was bandied about as Endgame Time, but my loved ones immediately objected, and so I dropped the willingness to go ’round the corner, and embraced The Fight. The Fight I was prepared to avoid totally, which — in my mind — meant subjecting myself to Chemo and Radiation. Thus far the latter has not been part of the mix, and the Chemo dimension to date has been quite acceptable, moments of strange side effects notwithstanding. I mention all this, in great part, because my last 15 years of incessantly focusing on TOSCA (Transforming Our State with Citizen Action) — which one can get a telegraphic taste of by googling “Staring Down the Precipice: An Interview with Richard Oxman on Dissident Voice conducted by William Hawes and/or by bringing up a piece titled TOSCA in Tuscon on this site or Countercurrents — quickly became a source of creative magic, a God-given blessing.
I had often told folks that all I needed to get the ball rolling with TOSCA was six focused, trustworthy souls. That we could stir up healthy trouble nationwide with a small core group of citizens dedicated to being real respecting our collective crises. Well, death staring at my eyeballs and letting me know in its coursing through my veins somehow added to my laser focus, and brought about — it seems to me — the miracle I couldn’t achieve on my own. Needed my buddy Death on the Way to pave the way properly. I love the Imminent Death on that score alone. I’m quite at peace with my tiny piece of achievement thus far.
I welcome the opportunity to give loved ones and others a chance to see someone not kicking up sand and dirt in an effort to emulate the Dylan Thomas poetic character who has become quite popular courtesy of “Do Not Go Gentle….” fame. Name me how many people you’ve seen on their deathbed go peacefully in an authentic way. Very few can do that with even small numbers, most never having experienced that. Recently, when the poet W.S. Merwin passed at 91, I heard some old radio tribute to him on a mainstream outlet which had him saying a few years before his dropping his body that that was the great gift that his parents gave to him, one of whom had been abusive, the other — his mother — being his champion. They both went peacefully, no fear, with faith respecting not knowing what was around the corner.
Fritz Perls — back in the day — used to say that if people went around with a sense of their own mortality they’d treat others differently. That’s true, to my mind. And I think that his Gestalt Psychology made great hay out of that fact. All that aside, fact is that without being dismissive of scientific track records, one always has the opportunity of surprising everyone — including oneself — without creating desperate delusions about what’s possible. I’m operating daily as if timelines don’t exist, only timely responses mattering.
As per my oncologist, I could go at any time, but I could be one of those who goes on for five years or more. The latter would represent several lifetimes to me at this point, and — truth be told — I tell everyone (as I was doing prior to getting The News) — that each day, each week is several lifetimes to me; I usually tell them that when they postpone meetings or put me off for a bit before arranging a rendezvous. It’s certainly true with regard to the multiple faces of suffering which are on my daily agenda, wanting to address the suffering yesterday. TOSCA is designed to move expeditiously, and now my diagnoses has led to my carving out inroads on its basic game plan.
I’m currently involved with that half a dozen I spoke of, six citizens in Stockton, California who have been meeting every Friday to deal with the homeless and other local immiserated souls, some of whom are social workers, all of whom fit the bill on one score or another. The cancer, I believe, helped me to kick in special creative juices dwelling within me AND to stir up the creative juices in the others, the passion and the faith that something fresh could be done. What are we working on? Get this. We’re in the process of replacing the current mayor, the disingenuous, misleading Mayor Tubbs, who did an internship with disingenuous, misleading murderer Barack Obama a few years ago. In his twenties, his good sides notwithstanding, he’s a horror for the locals, not involved whatsoever in transforming the life of locals, let alone contributing to change that has the face of humanity that’s now required to bolster the energy of one and all.
Thing is, we’re not just going to shoot for a 2020 victory along TOSCA-like (or better) lines, we might go for a recall if Tubbs; I don’t want to foul mouth him too badly here, though, as I fancy that many folks who’ve gone down a bad road can recover, and become wonderful allies. Let’s hope I haven’t done too much damage with my words (in case he gets hold of this blah blah of mine). Very important with this dynamic that’s kicked in is the fact that we’re likely to — as per the original TOSCA aims — hawk a gubernatorial coalition for California for 2022 to replace Newsom, to secure the Sacred Seat of Sacramento. No matter how decent a given politician might be at a given moment, they’re almost always playing some angle which precludes primary consideration of the Collective Good. By definition, career politicians are too self-serving. Their exclusive hold on decision-making has to be terminated for that’s part and parcel of society’s real terminal illness. And it’s really harder than ever now to put up with even the slightest reinforcement which suggests that’s not the case; I just came from hearing a back and forth between two highly esteemed African-Americans who argued about what Democrats might do respecting reparations down the line. Well, my terminal eyes see quite clearly that they’ll never get around to getting down with that properly, that even AOC — having praised McCain — can only talk about such crucial matters, and I have zero tolerance for such stances these days.
For youth, each soul should acknowledge that school authorities and others ruling over them should not be allowed to call all the shots. Both members of the Sunrise Movement and Extinction Rebellion are still overly attached to asking for help (which will never come) from adults with vested interests, especially on bent knee. None of us knowing what’s really ’round the corner, I recommend that kids proceed, in part, moving in solidarity with something like TOSCA… which seeks to — post haste — put them into a decision-making loop; no reason why youth couldn’t be part of a gubernatorial coalition while simultaneously pursuing personal pleasures which are singular, dear to their hearts and souls. They need to think about what it means to say that if William Ernest Henley really was master of his fate, captain of his soul he wouldn’t have written in English; we’re too quick to accept what time and place of birth dumps on us. All of us need to acknowledge that somewhere between ape-men and the beginning of religion, people became aware of an enormous fact that we still don’t understand. And on that note, I recommend that one and all read Larkin’s First Sight.
Any campaign to secure the mayor’s seat (with a coalition in tow) can tow the line for a counterpart on the gubernatorial level; that’s actually needed considering the deadlines you alluded to when you brought up kids’ growing sense of having no future worth living for around the corner. This is not just fighting the good fight, and patting ourselves on the back for what we’re engaged in.
I don’t consider myself any kind of leader, but I can open doors I couldn’t before by simply announcing that I’ve got Stage IV. And what’s more, I’m open to dropping the whole TOSCA trip if viable options are put on the table. They say that folks tend to live longer if they have a reason for getting up in the morning, meaning in their life. Well, I’m engaged with TOSCA and the lives of my loved ones ’round the clock. Regarding the latter, I incessantly stay in the moment these days, totally present whenever they speak to me, each and every time I hear their movement at a distance, real or imagined. That’s progress. And respecting the former, I should tell you — if I haven’t already — that it wasn’t too long ago that I was meeting with my oncologist and beginning to complain about how his operation was offering up (inappropriate products on his premises, filled with sugar-filled items which I thought were counterproductive, at the very least, for his professional purposes). His response was to tell me, “Richard, it’s time to focus on the Big Picture.” What he didn’t get in pointing out that he thought that I should focus on my personal survival exclusively was that — for me — the Big Picture includes the Collective Good. Whereas my personal survival is, of course, important to me in many ways, from many angles, his Big Picture is my Little Picture.
