In our world many people
never become literate; many more still live at the borderline
between human and animal life, threatened by starvation and
epidemics. These facts do not contradict the dynamics that made
alternatives to literacy necessary. It is appropriate,
therefore, to question the type of knowledge that education
imparts, and how it impacts upon those who are educated.
Relevance
Schools and universities are criticized for not giving students
relevant knowledge. The notion of relevance is critical here.
Scholars claim that knowledge of facts pertaining to tradition,
such as those tested in the graduating class of 1996, are
relevant. Relevant also are elements of logical thinking, enough
science in order to understand the wealth of technologies we
use, foreign languages, and other subject matter that will help
students face the world of practical experience. Although the
subjects listed are qualified as significant, they are never used
in polls of graduating students.
Critics of the traditional curriculum dispute the relevance of a
tradition that seems to exclude more than it includes. They also
challenge implicit hierarchical judgments of the people who
impose courses of study. Multiculturalism, criticism of
tradition, and freedom from the pressure of competition are
among the recommendations they make. Acknowledging the new
context of social life and praxis, these critics fail, however,
to put it in the broader context of successive structural
conditions, and thus lack criteria of significance outside their
own field of expertise.
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