| Tim: |
What did you enjoy most about teaching? |
| John: |
Interacting with inquisitive minds was (and is) a wonderful experience.
Young kids are seldom shy about asking questions or probing issues.
It's inspiring to see them explore. It is sometimes alarming to see when they give up. Children help me feel more hope for humanity. |
| Tim: |
Why did you quit teaching? |
| John: |
The teaching profession has changed a lot in recent decades. Now it's much
more test-oriented and teachers themselves have been systematically disempowered.
Bureaucrats who know little about deep learning are trying to control education to
manufacture more data. It's a massive deception and takes energy away from many critical
teaching tasks. |
| Tim: |
Why's this happening? |
| John: |
I suspect there's a capitalist mandate behind it. That mandate is rooted in a culture of greed and
hungry competition. Of course, proponents claim they are searching for better quality and consistency. However, few
people I know take those assertions seriously. The real agenda comes down to control and conformity.
It's rooted in a conservative tendency to increase conformity. |
| Tim: |
(in a satiric tone) . . . and none of this has anything to do with money, right? |
| John: |
Naturally, money is involved. More and more power is getting consolidated in
the hands of a few testing agencies and publishers. However, I believe the public
is also responsible. Too many people are allowing the establishment to dupe us with misinformation.
This is happening on many levels. Money talks. The kids, however, are suffering. |
| Tim: |
What suggestions would you offer for persons interested in quality schooling? |
| John: |
I honestly don't know. As for making
large-scale changes in the system, I've already given up. Unless there is a significant change in the
consciousness of this planet, I don't believe wide-level change can take place. Too many people today have a
a sort of Disneyfied consciousness: they have no idea what's going on. |
| Tim: |
And how do you think people should wake up? |
| John: |
I fear it may take a major catastrophe. Looking at the way we are misusing our planet's resources,
that seems increasingly immanent. |
| Tim: |
So why are you creating pottery? |
| John: |
It's beautifully absurd. When I'm at the wheel, I can enjoy the myth that I'm making something useful.
And none of my stuff is mass-produced. Some people might recognize the value of
diversity through these pots. There is too much conformity in the world today.
Our real hope is in the imagination of non-conformists. |