73: Education 4 - Reinvigorating the Decline of Modern Youth

As a (temporary) closure to the series of posts on education, I stumbled across Kurt Hahn. Who coincindentally, was also a founder of the high school that I went to (UWC).

He is regarded as a Great Educator. But its an obsecure term, and I’m not familiar with what a “Greaet educator” meant. Its a little more relatable in other fields. A great Scientist; a great Chef for instance. But what does it mean to be a great educator? The number of students? The impact - both personal and academic?

But I digress.

The Decline Of Modern Youth

and the risk of sounding like an ol’man, Kurt Hahn summarised a theory on the trends facing modern youth and the presumable detriment of future society.

They are:

1. The decline of fitness due to modern methods of locomotion
2. The decline of initiative and enterprise due to the widespread disease of “spectatoritis”
3. The decline of memory and imagination due to the confused restlessness of modern life
4. The decline of skill and care due to the weakened tradition of craftsmanship
5. The decline of self-discipline due to the ever-present availability of stimulants and tranquilizers
6. The decline of compassion due to the unseemly haste with which modern life is conducted

Indeed, the digital age has practically accelerated all of the declines across the board. And I think many of these are right on the mark. I pay particular attention to 4), which has been replaced by mass consumption habits in both the physical sense of goods as well as media.

The broader question is are these labelled as “declines: in the sense of a change that 20th century dude is unhappy with, or are they objective declines?

I’m not sure, but I do believe each of these are…not good for people/society at large too. Just writing down some of my observations to bring an updated view of each of these trends:

1. The decline of fitness - True, but fitness has been glamorised, though to what end, is less clear
2. The decline of initiative and enterprise - True, but now with a rising start-up/ hustle culture.
3. The decline of memory and imagination - True….indeed writing a blog like this is a response to my worsening “memory”. It is a difficult era to think deeply.
4. The decline of skill and care - True…we want more, faster, quicker. Skill has been replaced by ultra-specialisation of a capitalist civilsiation. This is perhaps one that…well looking at the outcomes, its not all that bad?
5. The decline of self-discipline - oh yes…absolutely true.
6. The decline of compassion - Yes…though pockets of humanity are around and abound, if sought out.

In all, I find that while there is a modern reaction to this, much of it stems from an inherent focus on the self and less on the collective (like fitness, and enterprise - I think there are many doing this out of a personal pursuit of passion, rather than other influences). I presume Individualism back then was less common (especially in turbulent times of war, with y’know World War I and such, I believe this was written around the 1920s).

Reversing the Decline

Hahn’s response to the declines is well and alive today, in the form of the Outward Bound. But, since we can’t all be in Outward Bound for most of our lives, I’d rather look at what I, and others around me have done in a modern society:

1. Fitness - Being fit, eat well. True in the past, true today, true for the future. I try to Work out and run/cardio every now and then.
2. Initiative and enterprise - I absolutely believe that Entrepreneurship is a valuable experience. Just do it.
3. Memory and imagination - hmmmmm. Arts? Reading more? Film? Good inspiration comes from external sources. Cram schools shouldn’t be a pathway to better memory.
4. Skill and Care - Trade skills are useful, handiwork, manufacturing are things I find wanting. A DIY subculture, I would imagine would be very valuable.
5. Self-discipline - Silent Meditation retreats seem to be trendy these days. Days out in nature, without technology. But there has to be a better way, surely.
6. Compassion - probably something my rational-inclined mind is yet to grasp. I’m not too sure on this one. Technocrats would rather take action over words.

Building Better

Some further questions to ponder over, perhaps building off my three previous posts on Education.

I’d expand on 5) and perhaps 6) to broaden it to Self-management…Whether its the understanding and taming of our monkey brains (Self-discipline), while keeping our rational sides in check at times (something…emotional, passionate). Mankind is caught somewhere between and primal animal and a heartless automaton.

I also think a secular education could help stave and teach the management of one’s ego (its not all about you, you, you gaddamit). It could be in the form of education that promotes collectivism (this happens in many forms - but can be dangerously weaponised).

The ultimate goal, in my view, is to achieve the betterment of the:

A) Individual: through Self discovery to be the best form one can be (in the holistic meaning of inner peace, value to society). Indeed, this includes overcoming many of the Hahn’s declines. B) Collective: through Recognising trade-offs, self-sacrifice, and understanding the bigger picture of our communal foundations. Systems thinking could help here.

Right now, we are groomed to fit into societal expectations and norms. If we can be trained to be good employees, can we take it one step further to be trained to be better, self-discovering human beings?

….so as to reach our maximum potential and contribute back to society? (there, tackled the collectivism topic, which by the way, is a HOT topic in Singapore now).

I’d put a pause on this topic for now - to be rediscovered in the future…or if a book/conversation triggers be into spirited flurry of new ideas, waiting to be documented.