I agree but as with basically all things... it's messy. North Korea believes deeply in education. I fear that only once one political party's view of heresy has been solidly ingrained in the education system, will we then see education getting any funding again. It seems that since tribalism and fear of enemies is the most powerful political motivator, we can only invest in systems that reinforce a tribalism-based tool of manipulation.
Because of such crystallization, in America, critical thinking has become fairly close to heresy, and any tid bit of questioning of your own group's inflexible logic must be couched in "please don't hate me, I'm on your side" first. Those of us that enjoy being contrarian to our friends are getting less and less boost in social media, and most political messaging now contains a bite of "the other side, your fellow Americans, are corrupt/evil/incompetent." I just don't know how we can shake this situation but I think free speech isn't the problem at all, it's the incentives around our speech.
Yes, the blank word "education" means essentially nothing. I think most people on HN (including yourself) understand my intention, however you are absolutely correct that "education" can mean wildly varying things if they have pre-conceived outcomes to which "education" is being directed.
cough Vocational education and training centers cough [0]
My definition is along the lines of independent thought, critical thinking, alternative perspectives, the scientific method, (stretching here: mathematics as a language of observed behaviour). Teaching them to fish rather than giving them a fish. Anything other than blind acceptance, or at least providing a sense of judgement to know when blind acceptance may be justified.
And none of this is easy because 1) once a child is of school age they've already got a firm base of blind acceptances that, basically, work against their own education, and 2) independent thought and critical thinking means a lot of asking "why?" and lots of asking of "why?" takes up precious[1] curriculum teaching time.
[1]:Precious to school and education board/department management KPIs that have no provable basis in positive real-world outcomes for either society or the individual
Because of such crystallization, in America, critical thinking has become fairly close to heresy, and any tid bit of questioning of your own group's inflexible logic must be couched in "please don't hate me, I'm on your side" first. Those of us that enjoy being contrarian to our friends are getting less and less boost in social media, and most political messaging now contains a bite of "the other side, your fellow Americans, are corrupt/evil/incompetent." I just don't know how we can shake this situation but I think free speech isn't the problem at all, it's the incentives around our speech.