Re: <nettime> [iDC] A movement of unemployed teachers

[Jaime Magiera <jaime@sensoryresearch.net>]

On Jun 4, 2010, at 11:56 AM, { brad brace } wrote:

 <...>
>> Again I'm not sorry for my genuine rage, but this is all compounded by
>> the collapse of the educational system where so many of us are being
>> presented with our expulsion from academia. We need a Movement of
>> Unemployed Teachers like the unemployed workers movement in Argentina
>> (if any hope of a movement is still possible, or which may be possible
>> again now that we all have os much time on our hands). Just in sheer
>> numbers, so many of us are being laid off, having tenure threatened,
>> watching adjunct jobs disappear, that we must have the combined energy
>> to DO SOMETHING in response... The coming insurrection sounds more and
>> more like sweet music that makes so much sense as we're all told that we
>> have no futures left...

Did I miss Micha's original post? Looks like the thread originates from the iDC list.

I understand people are frustrated with academia right now. However, it's a cyclical thing. I don't think the mental purse-strings are being tightened forever more. If the system was an absolute failure, it would not have provided an avenue for Ricardo or anyone else with radical notions in the first place.  

Giving up on academia is a bad idea -- particularly if we don't have systems to pick up the slack. Our future as a society, as a world, depends on literacy, the ability to reason and the ability to work with others. Academia provides that at various levels. Instead of dropping out of education, we should be dropping in. Building alternatives to social media and education are good -- but their usefulness is determined not necessarily by how many outside people utilize them, but how many "ordinary" citizens use them. If we abandon education and social media, we're left with alternatives that preach to the choir. We need the radical thought to be integrated into mainstream avenues. Otherwise, those who don't have a clue will never get one. The educational track, which middle to upper class citizens follow by default, will be devoid of any radical elements. No new people will get turned on to new ideas. 

Brad, you and I had a conversation about the benefits of honey vs. vinegar, dropping in vs. dropping out over 10 years ago on the Rumori list. I think that is still apropos.  

Jaime Magiera

Sensory Research, Inc.
http://www.sensoryresearch.net


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