Tuesday, 20 February 2007

Captivity

Captivity.
 
By schooling's whip, the animals
were tamed
And now by freedom's shout
are shamed
 
Expectation has become
our prison
A law of social savagery
arisen
 
Without a keeper, this remains
our cage
Against its hidden bars, in vain
we rage
 
In place of the iron bars
that rust
Far stronger is cruelty of
the "just"
 
They, fearing freedom's wide and
open space,
Do not let go, lest could not keep
the pace
 
To prowl the confines of
our den
Is this the appointed lot
of men?
 
There is no place for freedom
here
Only mistrust, conformity and
fear
 

From 1980, I can see that I didn't altogether trust schooling. I think a bit of John Holt (Why Children Fail) and Ivan Illich (De Schooling society) influenced this quite a bit. And Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
 
 
 
 

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