(Untitled)

[tayefeth]

A friend posted some thoughts about the ways in which we're taught to question authority (or not), another acquaintance posted about someone claiming to challenge the status quo by repeating (generally nasty) comments that have been made by other people since the dawn of time, and I was thinking about classroom management. All of which brings me to

Comments

I'll use the new icon, since it seems to be part of the equation.

[callunav]

The issue of whether the authority has the power to change the situation is important, but knotty.

I think the first thing is to distinguish "Question authority" from "Rebel against, attack, or undermine authority." The latter is sometimes worth considering, but really doesn't work as a stand-alone inspirational injunction.

To my mind, "Question authority" means two things. First, ask questions of yourself about the ways you think and how they've been influenced by authority. For instance, I often realizing that I'm repeating things people told me as true, without actually having the slightest information on the subject. I give people authority to describe reality to me, and then I propagate their descriptions. I find it worthwhile to question this as much as possible. If I perceive that I'm doing something because of authority I have accorded someone else, it's important for me to decide whether that was a good decision and why, and what kind of authority I am willing to give that person. For instance, my academic advisor

Re: I'll use the new icon, since it seems to be part of the equation.

[tayefeth]

I agree, although I'm not sure I understand the distinction between the politeness you're advocating above and the appropriateness your icon seems unhappy with

Re: I'll use the new icon, since it seems to be part of the equation.

[callunav]

When I think back to being that age, I don't remember a great deal of "don't let the man get you down." I remember being intense about everything, including confusion and resistance to assignments I didn't like, I remember being swayed by kids I found impressive (which included my older brother), and I remember (or, I can perceive in retrospect) not being very good at identifying the real issues in a conflict and consistently naming things wrong. For instance, a teacher who made me uncomfortable might be someone I thought was no good at controlling the classroom. That was a reason for distancing myself that I could understand, but not actually very much related to the real problem

Re: I'll use the new icon, since it seems to be part of the equation.

[tayefeth]

The difference between what you describe and the "appropriately" in my icon is that the "appropriately" in my icon is the kind of "appropriately" which is used as a code for shutting people up. It's sort of like "compliant" in the medical setting.

Another case of people using a word to the point of obscuring its original meaning, I suppose. Kind of similar to how "politically correct" managed to morph from "what TPTB want to hear" into "what TPTB don't want to hear".

And, in fact, when you do, I hope you'll post about it.

If I do, I'll try to remember to post about it!:-)