By | Reza Sadeghzadeh
Let’s be honest and tell it like it is.
The big corporations want the politicians to turn higher education into a factory that produces blue and white collar workers because the corporations need individuals that are trainable. But there is more to it!
Programs like Humanities and Social Sciences are under attack by politicians like Marco Rubio, the person that said: “we need more welders and less philosophers.”
The underlining message is that public schools should teach us less about the world and more about the working world.
Donald Trump’s most recent presidential memorandum to the Secretary of Education will also reassure you that “it is critical that we educate and train our future workforce to compete and excel in lucrative and important STEM fields.”
Read between the lines! Trump is trying to manage public school programs that teach students how to be obedient workers.
In other words, the Trump administration is steering the working people away from courses that focus on critically thinking. They want to make sure that the 1% does all the thinking for us.
To be fair, STEM students do have more career opportunities than students in other programs. But that should not make the other programs inferior to science, technology, engineering and math. It would be like comparing apples to oranges.
These “soft” or interdisciplinary programs are just as important because they cultivate leaders with ethical decision-making abilities. But this notion would bring empowerment to the working class that would threaten the 1%.
Knowledge is power. When the people become educated, they are more inclined to be critical of their surroundings, the public discourse and their history. As a result, the people start making impressive egalitarian changes in society.
A perfect example of that is the current transformation of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Hopefully, you can see why the few people at the top would want to make sure that our education does not get out of line. Emphasizing STEM programs is a smart tactic on their part to deter us from gaining social consciousness.
There is more to Trump’s job growth rhetoric and it is not just about increasing our nation’s gross domestic product. It is harder for politicians to manipulate the people when the people start thinking outside the box. With that said, I leave you with this question: Is Trump’s education plan undermining your intellectual autonomy?
