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Special Education

By Peter Lloyd

Doesn’t a term like skilled nursing give you pause? Visiting a hospital not long ago, I noticed an entire floor dedicated to skilled nursing. I had to ask myself, “What kind of nursing do they offer on all the other floors?” The same kind of question applies to the term special education.

Even though our current economic system pays teachers a pittance compared to what it pays suits to sit on the sidelines and gamble on the success of corporations, education is pretty special. At least it should be. What other kind of education should we tolerate?

In protest, some students, chafe under a system strapped for funds that relegates the special qualities of individuals and defaults to sameness. Some respond with unruly behavior, break dress codes, or just tune out.

Others, like Cee Lo Green of Goodie Mob climb to a place where they will be heard to protest conformity and individuality on Age Against the Machine.

Conformity vs. Individuality
Psychologist Solomon Asch conducted and published a series of experiments during the 1950s, which dramatically demonstrated how ordinary people can be pressured into unusual behavior by conforming to the actions of people around them.

On the vintage TV program Candid Camera, this frightening effect was demonstrated quite humorously. If you think slavish conformity is funny.

More recently an updated version of the same gag on a program called Would You Fall for That? produced somewhat improved results in terms of ludicrous human conformity. Fewer people conformed as quickly. But only one man questioned the ridiculous behavior. View the video.

Both videos make most people laugh. What about you?

Individuality vs. Authority
If you’re not laughing after viewing the previous videos, there’s a good chance you’ll be crying after viewing the following updated version of The Milgram Obedience To Authority Experiment.

In response to the video on YouTube, a comment from someone who claims to have always questioned authority attributes being "thrown into special ed" to their stubborn individuality and refusal not to question authority.

I think we understand who needs special education.

Songwriter, author, ghostwriter, copywriter, and content provider Peter Lloyd syndicates Right Brain Workouts and blogs for businesses including Align4Profit.

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