Giroux "[Educators must contest] the increasingly dominant view propagated by neoliberal gurus such as Milton Friedman, that profit making is the essence of democracy and accumulating materials goods the essence of a good life."
Reflecting this week that at some points the acquisition of basic material goods is so fundamental (and ok) that then it can become harder once we have enough to switch gears and remember that's not the point.
Also... "lifelong learning" -- good heavens but I never ever EVER want to start learning but that's also code for "we're going to lay you off when you're 55 and expect you to change careers"
"We should build information-literate lifelong learners because they may go through 7 careers" -- how about we turn out students who not only question that 7 career thing (because they will on their own, that's not on us) but who have tools for organizing, ethical frameworks for resisting, and generally values which prepare them to treat other people... augh I don't evne know how to articulate what I'm thinking exactly...
Reading an article which talks about "skilled independent learners" and feeling an internal cringe because while being not inherently bad... the framing makes me think of a single person at their computer, responsible for finding and learning about things vs. a collaboratively learning society.
I dunno, there are some areas of my own profession, even, which I avoid because the mainstream discourse gives me shivers. OTOH I'm grateful for the people who engage with it and think about it because they exist in each of those areas. I can just only handle so much frustration at once, y'know?