Thirty-One Little Children (Song)

“The education that consists in the training of the memory, tending to discourage independent thought, has a moral bearing which is too little appreciated. As the student sacrifices the power to reason and judge for himself, he becomes incapable of discriminating between truth and error, and falls an easy prey to deception. He is easily led to follow tradition and custom.” {Education, 230.3}

A school’s education can discourage independent thought by training the memory, not giving you enough time to think independently because you have to study to make good grades, having teachers that put down student thoughts that are not in harmony with their own… etc. Be warned!

Just in case you don’t remember
Let me jog your memory
In a school they call the O-H-C
Back in 09 of 03

Thirty-one little children
All so hopeful and so small
Went to get an education there
How many names can you recall?

Thirty-one little children
Don’t it make you wonder why?
Thirty-one little children
How could they deserve to die?

Maybe we should stop and ask ourselves
Have we become so blind?
Will thirty-one little children
Finally open up your minds?

How did you sleep last night, oh Mrs. Clark?
Tell me did you feel their pain?
Thirty-one little children
May cry and perish in the flames!

All schools involved in thus destroying minds
I pray you’re brought to just demise
How can you stand for truth and rightness now?
When you won’t answer to your crimes?

Thirty-one little children
All so hopeful and so small
Thirty-one little children
How many names can you recall?

Maybe we should stop and ask ourselves
Have we become so blind?
Will thirty-one little children
Finally open up your minds?

I’ve heard it said that all their students
Only got what they paid for
Yet no one seems to know what laws were broken
What was in the deal they never heard

Yesterday I burned their handbook
I stopped a’list’nin to their lies
Wrote a letter to their headquarters
To rebuke them for their crimes

Thirty-one little children
Don’t it make you wonder why?
Thirty-one little children
How could they deserve to die?

Maybe we should stop and ask ourselves
Have we become so blind?
Will thirty-one little children
Finally open up your minds?

“The education that consists in the training of the memory, tending to discourage independent thought, has a moral bearing which is too little appreciated. As the student sacrifices the power to reason and judge for himself, he becomes incapable of discriminating between truth and error, and falls an easy prey to deception. He is easily led to follow tradition and custom.” {Education, 230.3}

A school’s education can discourage independent thought by training the memory, not giving you enough time to think independently because you have to study to make good grades, having teachers that put down student thoughts that are not in harmony with their own… etc. Be warned!