Neil Postman The End of Education Neil Postman was University Professor and Chair of the Department of Culture and Communication at New York University. Among his twenty books are studies of childhood (The Disappearance of Childhood), public discourse (Amusing Ourselves to Death), education (Teaching as a Subversive Activity), and the impact of technology (Technopoly). He died in 2003. Also by Neil Postman Building a Bridge to the 18th Century Technopoly Conscientious Objections Teaching as a Subversive Activity (with Charles Weingartner) Crazy Talk, Stupid Talk Teaching as a Conserving Activity The Disappearance of Childhood Amusing Ourselves to Death The End of Education
The End of Education Redefining the Value of School Neil Postman Vintage Books A Division of Random House, Inc. New York first vintace books edition, november 1996 Copyright © 1995 by Neil Postman All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally published in hardcover by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, in 1995. The Library of Congress has cataloged the Knopf edition as follows: Postman, Neil. The end of education: redefining the value of school / Neil Postman.—1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-679-43006-7 I. Education—United States. 2. Educational change—United States. 3. Education—United States—Aims and objectives. I. Title. LA217.2.P671995 37o'.973-dcao 94-46605 cip Vintage isbn: 0-679-75031-2 Random House Web address: Prinled in the United States of America 579B864
To Alyssa and Claire Contents Prefaceix Part i The Necessity of Gods3 Some Gods That Fail19 Some New Gods That Fail37 Gods That May Serve59 Part n The Spaceship Earth93 The Fallen Angel114 The American Experiment 129 The Law of Diversity143 The Word Weavers/The World Makers172 Epilogue195 Notes199 Index202 Preface The last book I wrote entirely on the subject of education was published in 1979. I return to the subject now, not because the education world has suffered from my absence, but because I have. I began my career as an elementary school teacher and have not for a single moment abandoned the idea that many of our most vexing and painful social problems could be ameliorated if we knew how to school our young. You may conclude from this that I am a romantic, but not, I think, a fool. I know that education is not the same thing as schooling, and that, in fact, not much of our education takes place in school. Schooling may be a subversive or a conserving activity, but it is certainly a circumscribed one. It has a late beginning and an early end and in between it pauses for summer vacations and holidays, and generously excuses us when we are ill. To the young, schooling seems relentless, but we know it is not. What is relentless is our education, which, for good or ill, gives us no rest. That is why poverty is a
Upload your study docs or become a
Course Hero member to access this document
Upload your study docs or become a
Course Hero member to access this document
End of preview. Want to read all 94 pages?
Upload your study docs or become a
Course Hero member to access this document
