Brave New.. Education?

     First off, I just want to say that this clip is very informational and the man who created is an absolute genius basically because.. he is right. Something that I found interesting in these short 10 minutes of film is that the current system of education was designed and conceived for a different age: the Enlightenment. This is absolutely the truth because at the time, you were either rich or poor; or in a better sense, smart or non-smart. Some benefit from this system, but the vast majority doesn't. This is because there are a select few who are deemed as smart and then focused on to become prodigies in their certain field of genius. Education is modeled on interests of industrialization and the image of it, or in simpler terms, a production line. Kids are placed through the schooling system based on their age, or production date, and then are sent to the world to make a difference armed with the knowledge of what they obtained in school. The smart ones receive the most attention because teachers want to make them into great success stories, while the average are hidden in the background doing what they do best.. being average. And for those who don't believe it's the kids fault, they diagnose them with AD-HD saying that all they need to do is pop a pill to focus and everything is going to be all right.
      There are many parallels in the education system of American and the world in general to the society of Brave New World. For one, when talking about the creation of new life, it is mentioned that "ninety-six [seems] to be the limit" and that it promotes "social stability" (8). The parallel with this is, like being taught in the education system, kids are produced on a factory line and already predestined in regards to what their job is going to be in life and what social class they are a part of. Likewise, in the real world students are given out grades and based on their efforts it gives a basis on who will succeed in life and who will struggle with intelligence. Soma is also a drug that makes the world easier to bear, like when Lenina recognizes Bernard is upset, she says "'.. take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of yours. You'd forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, you'd be jolly. So jolly'" (92). In the education system of America, if a person isn't "normal", that is of the same caliber of "intelligence", then they are diagnosed with a learning disability and are given pills to make them better and obtain knowledge better. Soma has the same effect in the World State, if you are not feeling in tip-top shape, just take some soma and in a snap you are all better with "happiness". How surreal?