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Show WASATCH COUNTY COURIER THINK continued from page 24 Watching young children explore the that ACT scores are dropping in some Utah school districts, ° signs of fall: crunching leaves underfoot, smelling that pinesmoke in the air, or that American students are no longer being wide-eyed at the harvest moon, interested in math and science? Our politicians tell us that it’s because we'll ~ should remind us that all are born with a natural curiosity about the world and lose ground in the global marketplace; life within it. We. exist at the apex of that we won’t have trained employees of for tomorrow’s high-tech jobs. years of accumulated knowledge, discovery, and wisdom; we’re feeding our hun- instead of knowledge. This, even as we stand on the backs of those who worked so hard to accumulate it in. the first place. evil that is only necessary because students have no political rights to challenge the system. Our students, then, become the dregs in a Dio album cover: Remember that kids who hate knowl_ edge or the stamina required to gain it a procession of enslaved youth-forced to grow up and eventually raise kids who - memorize, forced to learn-really only — - will very likely feel the same way. Over wanting to live and let live, and party © several generations, that view will pre‘til it’s 1999. They may have to go to. dominate in society, and-despite hard© working and diligent parents and teachers-that accumulated aversion will have frightening consequences for our Civi- them to learn! The problem with such a conspiratorial view is that there is no one forcing our children to embrace education and _ lized society. What will it mean when we entrust the wisdom of all human existence to the hearts and minds of our youth, and they throw it aside to play Mortal Kombat III? At a time when technology will put us in touch. with almost any bit of We decided as a society to make public education pos-— sible in the last century-to spread the benefits of a liberal arts education to the masses as opposed to the elite few who had. always used said benefits to. their - knowledge, almost instantly, we will own advantage. Our actions were inherlack the critical discernment to use it to (and ently ~democratic-"All men ponent are created equal”/"pursuit of © happiness” and all that. ‘There was. a time when the pursuit of education was seen as a major part of Ss -pursuit of happiness. But times have.eer Why its greatest good. And the scary thing is, © if you cultivate the hatred of learning, you never know what other bodies of knowledge discarded: will be ‘sifted through and jurisprudence, aesthetics, . Sugar and a and everpthing nice. That's what dull stories are. He lives with his wife and son here made of. Rats and mice and things — that go bump in the night. That's what The Courier’s Creepy Contest is made of. in See page 2 for details. Heber Valley. — ee ee Tuesday, August 31. Back to school night at Wasatch School. — Wednesday, ee ee ‘Friday, September 3 ~ Midway Elementary- Swiss activities High. Football- North Sanpete at WHS 1 Volleyball - WHS at Uinta (tourna~ ment) Kindergarten begins. Picture Day at Wasatch Middle School. Musical rehearsals - 2: ve p.m. Back to school night at Wasatch Middle School. : Golf - Wasatch "Thursday, Peer tutoring- Swiss Days.--depart 8:15 a.m. High at Uintah - Saturday, September September 2 Football- North Sanpete at WHS _ (freshman) ld Volleyball - — 4 WHS at Uinta ee ment) iG Football- WHS JV and Soph at North — Sanpete Monday, September 6 LABOR DAY - NO SCHOOL ~ | Soccer- WHS at Park City ethics, diplomacy, justice, truth? ot ROCKY. MOUNTAIN on PERFECTION CO. Hair Cutting ° Calcd Distinctive Furnishings Accessories & Gifts Pinte Pom Designs ~ Perming ¢ Waxing Massage ¢ Body Wraps Salt Glows ¢ Facials Manicures e Pedicures Pamper Yourself F rom Head To Toe 261 South Main — Heber City, UT 84032 Gift Certificates Available (433) 654-5555 31 West Center MomSat 10 amb pom Heber City ¢ Utah 435-654-5292 ry _ | _ Matthew Heimburger is a teacher of American history and literature at UVSC- Wasatch Campus and at BYU. gry children trivia and “marketability” sion learning itself-is boring; a necessary knowledge but ourselves. all that has come before, and yet we are As if sys- tematic measures can determine the © poised to throw away this “fulness of times” using the very freedom that it was worth of children and their minds on designed to produce. any old abacus. I say that we should | care because we’re losing thousands of That’s a little ironic, don’t you think? I’ve been amazed até the number of advertisements I’ve seen this year suggesting that the tedium of education can be temporarily relieved by soft drinks, — clothing, and fast food. These commercials are anything but subtle. They reinforce the idea that school-and by exten- school, but once there, no one can force ~ |. | ignorant rie Pe rTM be hnmyig: to CCC college-is modern, Big Education reality. But. to consider knowledge and the search for . truth as mere commodities suggests a larger problem. : ino our publicly-funded education system-K : we be concerned Now, to_ignore the economic aspects of through ~_ August 31, 1999 |