Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

Schooling the World

Posted on August 3, 2015June 30, 2016 by Dharma Documentaries
A look at modern schooling and how it is serving the globalised economy and destroying ancient cultures.

Schooling the World

When I was a boy the minimum age it was possible to leave school was 16 years. I left school when I was 16 years and two weeks. It had been such a traumatic experience I didn’t set foot in a school for another 13 years.

When this subject comes up, I normally tell people I left school to get an education, which it seemed to me I was certainly not getting in school: what was on offer there was indoctrination into a system I had already rejected.

This documentary, subtitled, The White Man’s Last Burden, looks at schooling, and particularly how it is being promoted around the world as the answer to poverty and the gateway to a bright future.

Nothing of the sort happens, of course, what does happen is deculturisation and being groomed for the globalised economy. In the meantime families are broken up, and traditions and even languages are forgotten.

This is not without historical precedence, in fact it was deliberate policy in the Americas for a long time, and under the saying: Kill the Indian, save the man cultural genocide was enforced on First Nation peoples until very recently.

This film focuses of Ladakh and shows how, even with many good intentions, schools are alienating children from their traditional culture and morals and preparing them for the corporate workforce. It is a sad story indeed.

The film is interspersed with interviews with Wade Davis, a NatGeo Explorer, who has worked on Tibetan related themes for a long time; Helena Norberg-Hodge, one of the most articulate voices on counter-development; the ubiquitous Vandana Shiva; Manish Jain Shikshantar, an Indian activist in this area; and Dolma Tsering of the Woman’s Alliance of Ladakh.

Anyone interested in education and/or traditional cultures should have a look at what is happening in our schools.

 

if this video is no longer available please leave a comment so I can update the page
(the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of stills click here

 

TAGS:
Culture, Activism, American Indians, Education, India, Ladakh

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe by Email Subscribe to our Feed

Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/36i

Donations

This site has taken 10 years to build, and has 700+ documentaries on it. If you would like to support the expenses involved, you can do so here. Even small amounts help.

choose amount:  

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Popular Posts

  • The Freedom of being a Buddhist Nun
  • Bright and Shining Mind in a Disabled Body
  • The Leshan Giant Buddha Statue
  • The Silk Road Series 7/16: Khotan-Oasis of Silk and Jade
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 3-4 of 24
  • The Tibetan Oracles
  • Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: The Untold Truth
  • The Mountain Yogi, Lama Govinda
  • Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism
  • The Journey of Xuanzang: An Introduction

Recent Posts

  • Our Only Home, a Climate Change Film
  • The Kingdom of Nature (in Cambodia)
  • Fire in the Blood
  • Sowers of Joy (Nuns Travel across India)
  • Life Beyond 2, The Museum of Alien Life
  • Life Beyond 1, Alien Life
  • Bhutan, Change Comes to the Happy Kingdom
  • The 108 Lokesvaras in Nepal
  • Survive (the Khmer Rouge)
  • Indiana Jones 16, Foreign Devils Begone

Related Posts

  • Local Futures, Beyond the Monoculture
  • Ladakh - Breaking Stereotypes
  • Return to Zanskar, Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom
  • Ancient Futures, Learning from Ladakh
  • A Force More Powerful 01, India
  • Life of Tibetan Buddhist Nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery
  • Life of Kripasaran Mahashtavir
  • Himalaya, Heavenly Path, Changtang
  • Ladakh, Capitalism reaches the Top of the World
  • Changpa of Ladakh
© 2021 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme