In the wake of massive numbers of school shootings in the US, we have already seen that there are signs all over that we typically ignore until it's too late.

Let's imagine that we get sensible and treat threats of violence as the clear and present warnings they are. We would still be left with Schools as they are. And if there is anything that needs a good hard look, it is schools and education.

Triadic philosophy sees education and therefore schools as an aspect of helpfulness.

A hand up

Helpfulness is a central ethical value along with tolerance and democracy.

Helpfulness is a hand up, education and enablement. All of these are relevant to schools. What is education? Education is learning, taking things in, getting comfortable with a body of material that satisfies curiosity and increases a sense of confidence and wellbeing. It is under no circumstances something you are compelled to take in. It should carry no threat. It is an end in itself.

Enablement would be a society that had a basic income and no safety net problem. We're not there yet.

Curiosity

The entire problem of education is unfortunately not solvable without understanding that all society is ill-formed and out of shape.

A society should be made up of communities small enough to enable regular, enjoyable and stimulating face-to-face contact.

It should not be subordinated to the hostile presence of automobiles and the creation of streets that are forbidding and frightening.

We are far from this ideal of good, face-to-face living. We make cars essential to education. We make life impersonal and cloying. Noise has become a substitute for conversation. We are so polarized as a society that we accept the fact that there are good and bad schools.

This is a scandal in itself.

Cybercommunities

What is needed are cybercommunities, car-free settlements where everything we need is present, where we can walk wherever we need to go. We need then to recreate education so that it is half cyber in one's own backyard, as it were, and half communal. Schools should not become babysitting facilities for kids of all ages or usury-dens like our universities.

These are aspects of polarization and injustice. Cybercommunities are car-free. and schools are small, voluntary teaching nodes scattered about, ancient-Athens-like.

Freedom

Dylan was wrong. Dogs don't run free. Neither do we.

We should be able to move with all the freedom of unfettered impulse. Schools today are the first cousin of prisons. They are as mentally-retarded as detached houses and massive concrete people-holders.

All society needs a makeover and it needs to be created locally, from the ground up. We need the principles. Policies will be developed when we run things with tolerance, helpfulness, and democracy.

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