New subjects of study appear on course
lists due to structural changes that make literacy useless in
the new pragmatic context. They cannot, however, substitute for
an education that builds the power of thinking and feeling for
practical experiences of increased complexity and dynamism.
Education needs to be shaped to the dynamics of self-constitution
in practical experiences characteristic of this new age of
humankind. This does not mean that education should become
another TV program, or an endless Internet voyage, without aim
and without method. We must comprehend that if we demand literacy
and efficiency at the same time, ignoring that they are in many
ways incompatible, we can only contribute to greater confusion.
Higher education was opened to people who merely need training
to obtain a skill. These students receive precious-looking
diplomas that exactly resemble the ones given to students who
have pursued a rigorous course of education. Once upon a time,
literacy meant the ability to write and read Latin. Therefore,
diplomas are embellished with Latin dicta, almost never
understood by the graduates, and many times not even by the
professors who hand them out. In the spirit of nostalgia,
useless rituals are maintained, which are totally disconnected
from today's pragmatic framework.
The progressively increased mediation that affects efficiency
levels also contributes to the multiplication of the number of
languages involved in describing, designing, coordinating, and
synchronizing human work.
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