Education, Don't Knows And Burkinis

Conundrums And The Truth

Everybody at some time or another wants to know the truth, the trouble being that nobody really knows it. Everybody also forms judgements, probably several times every day, and most want these judgements to be reasonably well informed. And, of course, these two are closely connected. So how can we best go about them?

When my mind wanders into conundrums like these and the weather is as warm, as it is now, I commonly take to my balcony late in the evening with a glass of calvados to hand, contemplate the darkening scenery across the river and think. The balcony is actually a no-go area at the moment due to a colony of hornets feeding on the grapes above but evening contemplation and calvados remain.

We live in an age when information has never been more immediate or in such plentiful supply and yet, perhaps, never so useless. The printed press, the internet, TV and radio deluge us with information 24 hours per day but always, it seems, either with a strong political bias or bland acceptance of what participants are saying in their own interest. At root is the apparently wilful failure to distinguish between what is actually said and done and comment on it. We need our dubito as never before.

The only answer I can see to this problem is to teach people to think, really think deeply, for themselves. Unfortunately, educational systems quite generally seem hell-bent on the opposite. I have just viewed a French cartoon of a teacher with a diary almost filled with holidays and days of strike. Teachers in France, as those in the UK that I know, are all pissed off. It takes determined mismanagement to piss off people dedicated to doing what they are supposed to be doing. An advert for teachers in the UK that has been running in the on TV says “work with the most creative and innovative people around: children”. True. What it doesn't say is “turn them into box ticking robots” or “and learn to become a first-class administrative clerk”. But that would be far nearer the truth. Education has become a political football that never gets near its true goal.

“Don't Knows” Win At Last

Before any election anywhere in the democratic world there are always polls suggesting how people will vote, with always a percentage of “don't knows”. The “don't knows” never win an election but seem to have won the UK EU referendum. It's probably a worldwide first. The UK population voted, apparently, for Brexit means Brexit, but nobody knows what that means. The government that has inherited this mandate has been asked if that means a trade deal with the EU and it has said that it doesn't know. It has been asked what curbs this might mean on immigration and it has said that it doesn't know. It has been asked what this means for the rights of EU citizens in the UK or in the EU and it has said that it doesn't know. Asked if it knows today's date it might just know but that is about as far as it goes. So the “don't knows” who won are now being governed by the government which doesn't know. There's a kind of logic to that but, to be frank, even Alice in Wonderland made more sense to me than that.

Burkinis Again

The French government has got its knickers in a twist over Burkinis. The ban imposed in some municipalities has been overruled by a high court. It turns out that this garb was designed by an Australian to actually liberate muslim women rather than confine them, in line witn France's well-known liberty, equality and fraternity principles. However, amusing comparisons with wet suits, diving gear and other comparable clothing aside, it does apparently conflict with France's principle of not allowing open public display of religious affiliation. But…….nuns and priests in traditional clothing, on view just about everywhere in France?

As ever this looks to be a case of France having strict principles and rules that get overlooked when they prove inconvenient. This, in reality, is the real principle in France: something is always true except when it isn't. I have a limited acquaintance with political animals but those I have known have a clear understanding of “no go” areas. They know that anything to do with human relationships is something that government is bad at and a potential minefield: don't go there, prevaricate. Clothing is something similar. I remember the dictatorship that briefly took over Greece in the 1960s banned mini-skirts only to be confronted with the fact that they were part of the uniform of the national guard. But that was a case of generals rather than politicians making the ruling. Politicians should know better than to get involved in such matters. It seems that French politicians have fallen for this sucker punch and they really should know better.