The Supidification of America

The first chapter of Literacies of Power by Donald Macedo, the Author gives his argument about how the American Educational System is installed to indoctrinate persons, and to continue the cycle of upperclass dominance. He points out the fact that the united states as a world power has violated and disregarded its own Pledge of Allegiance. Macedo believes that these systems are set in place to produce desensitized persons who have lost the ability of free thought and critical analysis. In the final Paragraph he says this "I am increasingly convinced that the U.S. Educational system is not a failure. The failure that it generates represents its ultimate victory to the extent that large groups of people, including the so-called minorities, were never intended to be educated.

From this chapter I feel like Macedo feels that the entire public school system is truly a "white power" system of oppression. I will agree with current trends that is certainly what it looks like and maybe it even really is that. However, I don't really believe they were set up to do that way. I believe they have become a way for the government to try and create a unified country and they did and have tried to use European ideals as the foundation of that country. I don't believe that white power established the school systems to continue their ideals. I do believe, however, that the school system is now doing just that, continuing white power ideals, or ideals that allow the upperclass to stay and increase in power. I do believe that the government lies to meet its own ends on a daily basis. I strongly feel that government should never be allowed to govern, or predict, or control a large body educational system for its citizenship. I am becoming increasingly convinced that the U.S. educational system IS a Failure and is beyond the point of reformation. I believe that the Educational system should be destroyed and a new "public" school system be established as a Non-profit organization removed from government control. Schools should not be for the purpose of creating a united citizenship, they should be for the education of the populace to promote critical thinking, problem solving, and free thought. They should be for the exploration of the world, knowledge, and the application of such in the form of wisdom. Not mindless menial busy work to "reprogram" our brains for mindless menial work.