chunwing
05-17-2007, 11:26 PM
This is inspired by the thread "should public schools teach philosophy" obviously. What I'm interested in is whether schools should teach kids about certain "rules".
I think in the past, back to pre 19th century days, you get the higher class who are taught manners and etiquette by a governess and the lower class knew nothing. By 20th century the gap between the 2 have closed. But for some reason it seems like the gap is now reappearing.
Is it the general notion of freedom which makes people just go out and speak their own mind, do violent deeds etc?
Confucious said that at 70 years of age he would be able to do anything he wants without hesitation but at the same time would not breach rules. "Rules" as in things like social conventions and morality. The thing is, even a wise man like Confucious would only say that he can do this at 70. What chance do the rest of us mere mortals have?
The reason why he can do anything he wants but still be within the realm of righteousness is that he has already learned and experienced so many things in life. He often seeked knowledge from people who were regarded as "lower" than him. It was through 70 years of seeking that he could finally confidently declare himself "free".
So for the rest of us, shouldn't schools do a bit more?
Off the top of my head, I can think of some rules which seem to be common sense, but obviously it not to a lot of people:
1) You should try to be on time.
2) Be nice to your parents.
3) Do not waste money.
4) When you cough in a public place, cover your mouth and try to cough in a direction where noone is there.
5) And this one really annoys me: You cannot go around and think, "oh, no offence, but I think....." and criticise someone. And when that someone gets mad, you simply answer "Oh why are you so angry? I'm simply speaking my mind. Aren't I entitled to an opinion?" The answer: "NO YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO SPEAK OUT YOUR OPINION JUST BECAUSE YOU GENUINELY BELIEVE IN SOMETHING. YOU SHOULD THINK BEFORE YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH. YOU NEED TO CONSIDER OTHER PEOPLE'S FEELINGS!"
This list can go on to 10000.
It just seems that simple things like these, which seem to be common sense, is no longer common sense.
I think schools need to have a whole class where they just teach rules like this. How else can we make society a better place?
I think in the past, back to pre 19th century days, you get the higher class who are taught manners and etiquette by a governess and the lower class knew nothing. By 20th century the gap between the 2 have closed. But for some reason it seems like the gap is now reappearing.
Is it the general notion of freedom which makes people just go out and speak their own mind, do violent deeds etc?
Confucious said that at 70 years of age he would be able to do anything he wants without hesitation but at the same time would not breach rules. "Rules" as in things like social conventions and morality. The thing is, even a wise man like Confucious would only say that he can do this at 70. What chance do the rest of us mere mortals have?
The reason why he can do anything he wants but still be within the realm of righteousness is that he has already learned and experienced so many things in life. He often seeked knowledge from people who were regarded as "lower" than him. It was through 70 years of seeking that he could finally confidently declare himself "free".
So for the rest of us, shouldn't schools do a bit more?
Off the top of my head, I can think of some rules which seem to be common sense, but obviously it not to a lot of people:
1) You should try to be on time.
2) Be nice to your parents.
3) Do not waste money.
4) When you cough in a public place, cover your mouth and try to cough in a direction where noone is there.
5) And this one really annoys me: You cannot go around and think, "oh, no offence, but I think....." and criticise someone. And when that someone gets mad, you simply answer "Oh why are you so angry? I'm simply speaking my mind. Aren't I entitled to an opinion?" The answer: "NO YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO SPEAK OUT YOUR OPINION JUST BECAUSE YOU GENUINELY BELIEVE IN SOMETHING. YOU SHOULD THINK BEFORE YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH. YOU NEED TO CONSIDER OTHER PEOPLE'S FEELINGS!"
This list can go on to 10000.
It just seems that simple things like these, which seem to be common sense, is no longer common sense.
I think schools need to have a whole class where they just teach rules like this. How else can we make society a better place?