Education concepts and approaches

Sociology - Utopia

EDUCATION in a UTOPIAN SOCIETY

The Utopian Concept:

One advantage of the modern computer age is that it allows us quick access to a plethora of information detailing human societies across the globe. That comparison provides the basis for creating a society that best addresses the needs of the individual and of society as a whole. The analysis of catalogued records includes a review of societal approaches to all the basic components of human society, such as religion, gender, work, and education. The Lafayette Unity Society represents the culmination of those efforts. Major Elements of the Lafayette Unity Society:

Much the way the original American Colonialists left Britain to escape religious oppression, the Lafayette Unity Society represents an escape from all organized religion and the concept of a supreme consciousness or "gods" of any kind. A review of recorded human history demonstrated that the overwhelming proportion of all human wars and other atrocities (continuing today) are attributable to pluralistic religious beliefs that are mutually incompatible. The negative consequences of maintaining human moral values through delusional beliefs and rules learned by rote far outweigh any benefit of that approach to morality in society. In Lafayette, honesty, mutual consideration for the rights and welfare of others are encouraged, and the empathetic and altruistic impulses are channeled into productive efforts to improve life for the less fortunate, but without any association with supposed decrees from gods. In general, moral conduct is promoted through logical principles of fairness and equity rather than on blind faith. For example, both genders are socialized identically with respect to sexual morality instead of socializing one gender to actively pursue sexuality and the other gender to equate sex outside of marriage with moral sin.

Lafayette also rejected the so-called "Christian work ethic" according to which work has an inherent value in and of itself, wholly apart from the value of it product. In Lafayette, vocational contribution to society is valued but there is no such thing as relative social status based on one's occupation. Work in very highly skilled industries is rewarded with various practical compensation, but vocational status is not pursued for its connection to social status.

Education in Lafayette Unity Society:

The cornerstone of the Lafayette Unity Society is its educational system, but less by virtue of the actual subject matter taught than by virtue of the lifelong principles for living in society that it inculcates into the individual throughout the early socialization process. Lafayette educators have combined the educational philosophies of 20th century intellectuals such as Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, and 20th century educators such as Howard Gardner with lessons learned from the former Soviet Union and the Eastern Block.

Specifically, Einstein and Russell (and others) often criticized the modern educational system, characterizing it as overly focused on rote memorization, uniformity of subject matter and methods, and the competitive motivation most often used to inspire superior performance. In Eastern Europe, schoolchildren were evaluated for their particular athletic abilities very early so that those with the greatest athletic potential could begin training in their optimal athletic capacity as early as possible.

In Lafayette, children are tested and evaluated continuously for their relative academic strengths; but unlike previous approaches to education, in Lafayette, those evaluations also incorporate the child's interest and preferences. Mandatory subjects consist of only those absolutely necessary to ensure normal social functions (reading, writing, basic computer use, etc.). Otherwise, the primary purpose of the educational system is to allow each person to begin the search for one's proverbial "true calling" simply as a means of promoting vocational satisfaction in society.

The Lafayette educational system uses the earliest formative years to instill social tolerance toward diversity as well as other fundamental socially desirable principles.