"I suspect the desire to control things without conforming to the facts is at the root of all irrationality."

That comment posted by Joe K. in response to this great post by J. D. at Math And Text.  J. D. writes:

[C]ontrol, in education, is almost always placed before truth, no matter what good comes out of the system. Withholding or curtailing the truth and nothing but the truth is a time-honored strategy of gaining control and power across history and across the globe.

Am I being hyperbolic? Here is a ridiculously mundane example:

About a year or so before my line segment battle, I was riding the train home from Boston (on the Newburyport line--last stop). Across from me I watched and listened to a man and his young daughter (about 6 years old, I would say). The daughter asked incessantly about the bathroom on the train. The father insisted over and over that there was no bathroom on the train and that she would just have to wait. Not having children at the time, I made what seemed like a ridiculous gesture. I leaned in and told the father that there was indeed a bathroom on the train and that it was in the front car. He whispered, "I know."

Control. If you're a parent, it can be adopting ridiculous positions that are essentially lies in order to gain the upper hand. If you're a teacher, an administrator, a student, it doesn't matter. Control.

This really hit home.  Come on, parents --- isn't the temptation huge, sometimes, to out-and-out lie to your kids so that (a) they'll obey you (b) they'll stop bothering you about whatever it is (c) they'll stop asking questions....  you name it?

I'm guilty of the following lies:

• "No, you can't have another one.  There aren't any more left."
• "I don't know."  OR "No reason."
• "I am going to sweep the floor in five minutes and if there are any toys left on the floor I am going to sweep them right into the dustpan and they will go in the trash."  [N.B.  This is usually true of some of the toys, but not all.  I guess I'm only lying about being non-discriminatory.]

I' m sure I could come up with more.  And of course this Christmas season, who can forget the power of Santa?  (We don't do Santa.  Never have, never will.)  My mom loved the ability to make kindergarteners in her classroom behave by invoking Santa; she told them she had his home phone number.

Good post.  I hope that commenter Joe's astute observation stays in my mind and helps me be tempted less often.

Comments

[MrsDarwin]

"I am going to sweep the floor in five minutes and if there are any toys left on the floor I am going to sweep them right into the dustpan and they will go in the trash." [N.B. This is usually true of some of the toys, but not all. I guess I'm only lying about being non-discriminatory.]

Oh, absolutely! I use this one all the time. It often works, but not until I pull out the broom. I do throw away broken or junky toys in full sight of the girls on occasion -- not as a punishment, but as a reminder of the natural cycle or toy life -- if it can't be fixed and you don't play with it, you don't need it!

[Dad29]

This is the Will to Power--recall Nietzche.

[J.D. Fisher]

I'm glad someone brought up Nietzsche. The idea of control above truth is undoubtedly from the Will to Power (or, Der Wille zur Macht; and in my mind Macht connotes a potentiality that is not carried over to the English power)--not because it isn't anywhere else, but because I have read everything Nietzsche has written (philosophical writings).

That said, I should also say that the post was not intended to get across a purely philosophical point, nor was it intended to shame adults for lying to children.

Although I DO avoid it daily and consciously (as far as I know), after becoming a parent twice (and pretty soon thrice), I can see how tempting it is to use deception to exert or maintain control.

The misleading in education is, for the most part, unconscious and systemic. It has real causes (likely organizational ones), which do not include a subscription on the part of educators at any level to the philosophy of misguiding students for personal or organizational advantage.

In education (as with many other things), it comes down to (a) understanding the truth, (b) communicating this truth, and (c) nurturing and challenging students.

And if you replace "students" above with "myself," you have the students' responsibilities.

And if you replace "students" above with "my child," . . . well, you know.