The War on Kids (documentary)

[Mr S]

The War on Kids is a 2009 documentary film about the American school system. The film takes a look at public school education in America and concludes that schools are not only failing to educate, but are increasingly authoritarian institutions more akin to prisons that are eroding the foundations of American democracy. Students are robbed of basic freedoms primarily due to irrational fears; they are searched, arbitrarily punished and force-fed dangerous pharmaceutical drugs. The educational mission of the public school system has been reduced from one of learning and preparation for adult citizenship to one of control and containment.

[Jester]

The War on Kids is a 2009 documentary film about the American school system. The film takes a look at public school education in America and concludes that schools are not only failing to educate, but are increasingly authoritarian institutions more akin to prisons that are eroding the foundations of American democracy. Students are robbed of basic freedoms primarily due to irrational fears; they are searched, arbitrarily punished and force-fed dangerous pharmaceutical drugs. The educational mission of the public school system has been reduced from one of learning and preparation for adult citizenship to one of control and containment.

This kind of stuff is why I am leaving the U.S.

But how much of it seeps into the Philippines, in your opinion?

The hero-worship that Filipinos have for Americans scares me in a way. I worry that whatever some American NGO pushes, they will adopt down the road.

Is my fear justified? I am thinking of a generation ahead, if I raised kids there.

[Dragon]

American Universities are still top-notch. Most top 100 universities in the world are still located in the US. It's just the education before it that is of poor quality. A lot of American kids pre-college age cannot read, write, and do math on a level that can compete with their Western European and SE Asian counterparts. Young adults who usually come to college are completely unprepared.

[Mr S]

The War on Kids is a 2009 documentary film about the American school system. The film takes a look at public school education in America and concludes that schools are not only failing to educate, but are increasingly authoritarian institutions more akin to prisons that are eroding the foundations of American democracy. Students are robbed of basic freedoms primarily due to irrational fears; they are searched, arbitrarily punished and force-fed dangerous pharmaceutical drugs. The educational mission of the public school system has been reduced from one of learning and preparation for adult citizenship to one of control and containment.

This kind of stuff is why I am leaving the U.S.

But how much of it seeps into the Philippines, in your opinion?

The hero-worship that Filipinos have for Americans scares me in a way. I worry that whatever some American NGO pushes, they will adopt down the road.

Is my fear justified? I am thinking of a generation ahead, if I raised kids there.

The Philippines is still a seriously F'ed up country in comparison to most countries so your fear of anything like this happening in PI anytime soon is almost laughable.

For one, the attitude culture of the average Filipino is lackadaisical at best. So for them to even muster an effort to create a prison based school system that strives to create conformity through rules and excessive order is almost impossible. They can barely manage to create/monitor their own rules/regulations created for everyday occurrences with the adult population let alone try to brainwash kids to follow a certain pattern of behavior in their public school systems to then be controlled as adults. The current system they have going on works fine for the elites running the show here in this country so there is no need to rock the boat.

The poor is a mix of uneducated individuals who either do everything their church leaders say, or blindly follow their local politicians who give them occasional trinkets every election period or yes they may have a dream to leave the country and work in a Western one or have their daughters marry a foreigner or whatever. But for the most part they are just brainwashed sheep that go along with the herd mentality and don't really think much of matters beyond everyday sustenance living. On the other hand, the middle class and above generally could care less about Western countries and Westerners other than the fact that they can make more money living there or doing business with a Western foreigner owned company or get permanent residency or citizenship away from their shithole country where their say and vote doesn't count much. Things almost never change here. If the country was a car it would be stuck somewhere between neutral and 1st gear, that's about it.

For some kind of a police state environment to happen in the Philippines it would have to be instigated and propped up by a foreign government via a dictatorship like what happened during the Marcos era. Right now there is no need for one because countries can do just fine manipulating the government and people the way it's run now by a crony corrupt "Democratic" system. So no need to change at the moment.

The only options for a decent education here in the Philippines is through the private education system, the public one is a joke and even worse than what you see in America. The question is how much do you want to spend and how much religion do you want in their education? Christianity rules the roost here so it's a bit difficult to get away from it in any fashion. Even the international schools are mandated to teach religious classes as part of the curriculum. There are some really good Catholic private schools but you have to deal with that religion. There are many other independent schools but it's hard to sometimes figure out which ones are really any good or not. There are different tiered International schools but they are kinda expensive but worth sending your kid to if you can afford them. Of course outside Manila the schools will be cheaper but may not have as high quality teachers as in the Manila area. I guess if you want to stay out of Manila and send your kid to a good school you would want to live in one of the other bigger cities like Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod or Baguio where there would still be a cluster of decent educators in the private education sector.

So overall, Yes your children can still get a decent education in the Philippines with much overall better human values than what is currently being offered in many Western countries. As long as you can occasionally supplement what they are learning with your own understandings, children will be much better prepared than most Western kids. However, I still think the universities are better in the West, it's just their prices are getting ridiculous so one has to weigh whether the cost of tuition is really worth the paper you would be getting from a Western Uni. Down the road it might be better just to send your kid to an Asian university in Singapore or Hong Kong that has education agreements with Western universities. But we'll see over the next decade whether Western education gets reformed or not. It really can't continue working under it's current formula for much longer.

[Jester]

This kind of stuff is why I am leaving the U.S.

But how much of it seeps into the Philippines, in your opinion?

The hero-worship that Filipinos have for Americans scares me in a way. I worry that whatever some American NGO pushes, they will adopt down the road.

Is my fear justified? I am thinking of a generation ahead, if I raised kids there.

The Philippines is still a seriously F'ed up country in comparison to most countries so your fear of anything like this happening in PI anytime soon is almost laughable.

For one, the attitude culture of the average Filipino is lackadaisical at best. So for them to even muster an effort to create a prison based school system that strives to create conformity through rules and excessive order is almost impossible. They can barely manage to create/monitor their own rules/regulations created for everyday occurrences with the adult population let alone try to brainwash kids to follow a certain pattern of behavior in their public school systems to then be controlled as adults. The current system they have going on works fine for the elites running the show here in this country so there is no need to rock the boat.

The poor is a mix of uneducated individuals who either do everything their church leaders say, or blindly follow their local politicians who give them occasional trinkets every election period or yes they may have a dream to leave the country and work in a Western one or have their daughters marry a foreigner or whatever. But for the most part they are just brainwashed sheep that go along with the herd mentality and don't really think much of matters beyond everyday sustenance living. On the other hand, the middle class and above generally could care less about Western countries and Westerners other than the fact that they can make more money living there or doing business with a Western foreigner owned company or get permanent residency or citizenship away from their shithole country where their say and vote doesn't count much. Things almost never change here. If the country was a car it would be stuck somewhere between neutral and 1st gear, that's about it.

For some kind of a police state environment to happen in the Philippines it would have to be instigated and propped up by a foreign government via a dictatorship like what happened during the Marcos era. Right now there is no need for one because countries can do just fine manipulating the government and people the way it's run now by a crony corrupt "Democratic" system. So no need to change at the moment.

The only options for a decent education here in the Philippines is through the private education system, the public one is a joke and even worse than what you see in America. The question is how much do you want to spend and how much religion do you want in their education? Christianity rules the roost here so it's a bit difficult to get away from it in any fashion. Even the international schools are mandated to teach religious classes as part of the curriculum. There are some really good Catholic private schools but you have to deal with that religion. There are many other independent schools but it's hard to sometimes figure out which ones are really any good or not. There are different tiered International schools but they are kinda expensive but worth sending your kid to if you can afford them. Of course outside Manila the schools will be cheaper but may not have as high quality teachers as in the Manila area. I guess if you want to stay out of Manila and send your kid to a good school you would want to live in one of the other bigger cities like Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod or Baguio where there would still be a cluster of decent educators in the private education sector.

So overall, Yes your children can still get a decent education in the Philippines with much overall better human values than what is currently being offered in many Western countries. As long as you can occasionally supplement what they are learning with your own understandings, children will be much better prepared than most Western kids. However, I still think the universities are better in the West, it's just their prices are getting ridiculous so one has to weigh whether the cost of tuition is really worth the paper you would be getting from a Western Uni. Down the road it might be better just to send your kid to an Asian university in Singapore or Hong Kong that has education agreements with Western universities. But we'll see over the next decade whether Western education gets reformed or not. It really can't continue working under it's current formula for much longer.

Thanks for your feedback.

From my standpoint, this doesn't sound too bad. I can educate my own kids if I need to, I just can't fix a whole country that goes feminist.

But overall, FYI, when I think about jumping to the Phil's, I recall your previous comments.

You posted history about Paraguay and Uruguay a while back. Any new thoughts? I consider Paraguay as a great passport and citizenship, but like the Phil's, a big jump, and a big adjustment.

Indecision!

[Mr S]

This kind of stuff is why I am leaving the U.S.

But how much of it seeps into the Philippines, in your opinion?

The hero-worship that Filipinos have for Americans scares me in a way. I worry that whatever some American NGO pushes, they will adopt down the road.

Is my fear justified? I am thinking of a generation ahead, if I raised kids there.

The Philippines is still a seriously F'ed up country in comparison to most countries so your fear of anything like this happening in PI anytime soon is almost laughable.

For one, the attitude culture of the average Filipino is lackadaisical at best. So for them to even muster an effort to create a prison based school system that strives to create conformity through rules and excessive order is almost impossible. They can barely manage to create/monitor their own rules/regulations created for everyday occurrences with the adult population let alone try to brainwash kids to follow a certain pattern of behavior in their public school systems to then be controlled as adults. The current system they have going on works fine for the elites running the show here in this country so there is no need to rock the boat.

The poor is a mix of uneducated individuals who either do everything their church leaders say, or blindly follow their local politicians who give them occasional trinkets every election period or yes they may have a dream to leave the country and work in a Western one or have their daughters marry a foreigner or whatever. But for the most part they are just brainwashed sheep that go along with the herd mentality and don't really think much of matters beyond everyday sustenance living. On the other hand, the middle class and above generally could care less about Western countries and Westerners other than the fact that they can make more money living there or doing business with a Western foreigner owned company or get permanent residency or citizenship away from their shithole country where their say and vote doesn't count much. Things almost never change here. If the country was a car it would be stuck somewhere between neutral and 1st gear, that's about it.

For some kind of a police state environment to happen in the Philippines it would have to be instigated and propped up by a foreign government via a dictatorship like what happened during the Marcos era. Right now there is no need for one because countries can do just fine manipulating the government and people the way it's run now by a crony corrupt "Democratic" system. So no need to change at the moment.

The only options for a decent education here in the Philippines is through the private education system, the public one is a joke and even worse than what you see in America. The question is how much do you want to spend and how much religion do you want in their education? Christianity rules the roost here so it's a bit difficult to get away from it in any fashion. Even the international schools are mandated to teach religious classes as part of the curriculum. There are some really good Catholic private schools but you have to deal with that religion. There are many other independent schools but it's hard to sometimes figure out which ones are really any good or not. There are different tiered International schools but they are kinda expensive but worth sending your kid to if you can afford them. Of course outside Manila the schools will be cheaper but may not have as high quality teachers as in the Manila area. I guess if you want to stay out of Manila and send your kid to a good school you would want to live in one of the other bigger cities like Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod or Baguio where there would still be a cluster of decent educators in the private education sector.

So overall, Yes your children can still get a decent education in the Philippines with much overall better human values than what is currently being offered in many Western countries. As long as you can occasionally supplement what they are learning with your own understandings, children will be much better prepared than most Western kids. However, I still think the universities are better in the West, it's just their prices are getting ridiculous so one has to weigh whether the cost of tuition is really worth the paper you would be getting from a Western Uni. Down the road it might be better just to send your kid to an Asian university in Singapore or Hong Kong that has education agreements with Western universities. But we'll see over the next decade whether Western education gets reformed or not. It really can't continue working under it's current formula for much longer.

Thanks for your feedback.

From my standpoint, this doesn't sound too bad. I can educate my own kids if I need to, I just can't fix a whole country that goes feminist.

But overall, FYI, when I think about jumping to the Phil's, I recall your previous comments.

You posted history about Paraguay and Uruguay a while back. Any new thoughts? I consider Paraguay as a great passport and citizenship, but like the Phil's, a big jump, and a big adjustment.

Indecision!

I guess if I was financially able to do so I would maybe pick 2 or 3 countries to reside in throughout the year to test the waters then depending on which you prefer I would then move there or maybe live part time in 2 places, then if you decide to have a family choose one for stability. Philippines is a good base in SE Asia if you have your own money or are capable of making over 1500 dollars a month. I'm not sold on the long term viability of the country but in the short term it's okay to deal with. Everyone is different you gotta live in a place for at least 3 months to start getting a feel for it and some people may like a place while others detest it. Overall though I think going somewhere in South America is a safer long-term bet then going to anywhere in Asia. If you want to go to Philippines to find a decent wife then do that then maybe go to another country in South America with her. She should be able to blend in with the locals fairly easily since many mixed Indians over there kinda look like Filipinos, the major difference is really only in the nose and maybe the eyes if they have Chinese blood.

The Philippines though long-term never really fixes itself so it can get annoying after a number of years for the average Westerner. Most Westerners never stay long term, most eventually go back to their home countries or go elsewhere. Philippines is cool at first but it wears you down after a while. Only the strong survive here, most don't make it to 5 years. If you meet a Westerner that has been living over 5 years straight in PI, it's actually a rarity. Most come and go but don't stay year long, year in and year out. I'm able to do it cause I'm flexible and adaptable but I know I'm not gonna live here the rest of my life, there just isn't much here to build on to keep me here past the foundations of my child's education. I'm already planning my escape for down the road in the future to some other country that is more suitable to my liking.

So pick a few countries and test the waters with them and then go from there. That's my advice.

[Jester]

.....You posted history about Paraguay and Uruguay a while back. Any new thoughts? I consider Paraguay as a great passport and citizenship, but like the Phil's, a big jump, and a big adjustment.

Indecision!

I guess if I was financially able to do so I would maybe pick 2 or 3 countries to reside in throughout the year to test the waters then depending on which you prefer I would then move there or maybe live part time in 2 places, then if you decide to have a family choose one for stability. Philippines is a good base in SE Asia if you have your own money or are capable of making over 1500 dollars a month. I'm not sold on the long term viability of the country but in the short term it's okay to deal with. Everyone is different you gotta live in a place for at least 3 months to start getting a feel for it and some people may like a place while others detest it. Overall though I think going somewhere in South America is a safer long-term bet then going to anywhere in Asia. If you want to go to Philippines to find a decent wife then do that then maybe go to another country in South America with her. She should be able to blend in with the locals fairly easily since many mixed Indians over there kinda look like Filipinos, the major difference is really only in the nose and maybe the eyes if they have Chinese blood.

The Philippines though long-term never really fixes itself so it can get annoying after a number of years for the average Westerner. Most Westerners never stay long term, most eventually go back to their home countries or go elsewhere. Philippines is cool at first but it wears you down after a while. Only the strong survive here, most don't make it to 5 years. If you meet a Westerner that has been living over 5 years straight in PI, it's actually a rarity. Most come and go but don't stay year long, year in and year out. I'm able to do it cause I'm flexible and adaptable but I know I'm not gonna live here the rest of my life, there just isn't much here to build on to keep me here past the foundations of my child's education. I'm already planning my escape for down the road in the future to some other country that is more suitable to my liking.

So pick a few countries and test the waters with them and then go from there. That's my advice.

I know you're right. I guess I'll bite the bullet and make the move south. Paraguay sounds scary to me , like to most NortAmericanos - a long way away, no personal network, no English, few American expats, and maybe no datable good girls at first. OTOH, the good passport would mean being able to renounce U.S. citizenship in a few years, plus a guy can start a business almost right away. It does help to look at it as a part-year destination, one of 3 to try out, as you suggest. Helps a lot, actually.

It's just that I always get such a boost, work-wise, from having a couple of steady g/f's... and I've been in the doldrums lately. The Phil's would solve that problem right away.

I guess I'm going to have to focus on building a business and a life first, before importing talent. That's probably the right order anyway.


[/u]

[Ghost]

...

[Jester]

The US is very anti-child, but of course, it comes largely under the guise of being "in the best interests of the children." *vomit*

I know I've mentioned him here on the forums before, but check out John Taylor Gatto, a former schoolteacher who quit after a number of years because he realized what it really was and what it does to children.

The "education" system was really imported to the US to create a standardized, docile population. It is to teach obedience, the government approved versions of things like history, and to create drones for the corporations.

This is one reason why I'm not going to have kids. They will be co-opted by Big Brother and become more drones for the system. I want the system to starve. It is inhuman and monstrous.

Step One: Escape to freedom
Step Two: Free your chosen bride
Step Three: Breed in freedom

Check out "Anthem" by Ayn Rand. It's a very short novel.

[Ghost]

...

[ladislav]

The hero-worship that Filipinos have for Americans scares me in a way. I worry that whatever some American NGO pushes, they will adopt down the road.

Is my fear justified? I am thinking of a generation ahead, if I raised kids there.

After 21 years of visiting the Philippines I have come to some interesting conclusions:

The hero worship is very superficial- it has to do with music and fashions mostly and only with a small stratum of people. The core of the Philippine culture is not even Catholic- it is Hindu Malay. So, it absorbs things like a sponge but it will be as American as India is British. They graft foreign influence upon themselves without changing the very passive and tranquil core of their very Hindu souls. An English speaking Filipino will never be an American there. Not possible. And nothing will ever seep through to the masses who will forever remain relaxed, dreamy and happy Malays.

[gsjackson]

American Universities are still top-notch. Most top 100 universities in the world are still located in the US. It's just the education before it that is of poor quality. A lot of American kids pre-college age cannot read, write, and do math on a level that can compete with their Western European and SE Asian counterparts. Young adults who usually come to college are completely unprepared.

American universities are rated highly because they have a lot of money in their graduate programs, and people come from all over the world for the financial assistance. But American undergraduate education is a joke. And I'm speaking as someone who has spent several years teaching undergraduates. Hard to imagine a more pointless enterprise. They have no interest in learning, and don't have the intellectual tools (e.g., a fundamental base of learning)to do so if they did.

[Andrewww]

Top 100 based on what ? American universities are good at one thing...sucking you dry for the next 10-20 years with a massive debt on your name. It's the only place where I've heard that education is actually an "investment". Education shouldn't be an investment, it should be a right.