What thoughts do we predominantly concern ourselves with: those regarding the greater state of the world and its inhabitants, or the million problems in our lives both large and small? How could we tear ourselves away from thoughts of survival in the system? It's just not healthy for anybody. Apparently.
That's what our friends and family will tell us at least: don't think of the world's problems, you have enough of your own. This statement may have been somewhat valid if it had related to problems of survival, but mostly they are not. Mostly, they're all about love, relationships, sex, fashion/trends/popularity/body image and other forms of self validation.
We are so preoccupied with our (mostly) little problems and insecurities that we cannot even spare a moment's though on how to solve the global issues that abound.
When Chomsky uses the word "discipline", it seems like he is using it in terms of meaning that a person is docile, accepting and unquestioning. Students who ask their teachers questions are more likely to be seen as a nuisance, whereas students who accept without question every word the teacher says will be regarded as good students. The education system is not looking to develop independent and critical thinking - it is trying to create a mass of humans who all think the same way, accept the same things and fall in line before authoritative figures.
Looking back at my experience in school, it was a living hell. Kids have no shame and are willing to inflict misery without a second thought. All the kids who had some or other issue(s) at home would come to school and take it out on any unsuspecting little Bob or Sally - simply because parents are not properly prepared before having a child and end up creating a devious little monster.
The education system was not designed with education in mind, but control. If the education system had been designed to actually educate students, it would not have focused on testing and scoring, but on supporting each student to fully understand the material and then to become proficient in applying it. Students thrive when they are matched with a good teacher who is willing to adapt their teaching style to best accommodate for the student's needs. The same goes for working with horses, just by the by: the human must adapt to suit the horse, for there is no "right" way to teach a horse, only a particular way that that specific horse understands and responds to. Now this is not to say that each horse (student) must be taught in a unique way, but the human (teacher) must be willing to adapt their approach when the "norm" is not effective.
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