We Are Not Everyone

As I slowly read the book I come across part that I then think about. For those who know me that may seem a stretch, thinking is always tough.

The author describes his early life. He said that his father grew up and live his life close to where he was born, but the author had traveled widely and his children had as well. I felt that the author felt that his experiences were the norm. I am a contemporary of the author, he was born in 1950 and I in 1948, his father was born 1914 and my father 1910. My father traveled more than I have and had traveled to Europe at a much younger age than I did and my travels were gifts of my parents.

To say that our personal experiences can be generalized to all is not a good plan. There are those still who are born, grow up and die in the same relatively small area of the world. And I guess I ask what does this have to do with the point of the book in general? A second point the author makes is that change is happening more rapidly than ever before. So? Does this mean that what we teach as "basic" education should change? Sure it should, but the problem is what to teach and what to leave out. If "specialized knowledge" is needed what is the specialized knowledge that we should teach and should we leave out some of the "old" knowledge?