Modernity Ruined Education?

Bruna Latour's We Have Never Been Modern presents a case against modernity and post modernity. While very dense reading, I think there are some interesting points that can be drawn from his argument. One of his main concerns with the idea of modern and all the academic subjects which have come up around the topic is the idea that moderns have tried to separate nature from society and the self.  He writes, "The hypothesis of this essay is that the modern 'modern' designates two sets of entirely different practices which must remain distinct if they are to remain effective, but have recently begun to be confused... So long as we consider these two practices of translation and purification separately, we are truly modern - that is, we willing subscribe to the critical project, even though that project is developed only through the proliferation of hybrids down below," (10-11).

This passage in the book made me consider how the U.S. education system is up in a factory-like model. Factory mindset calls that parts and processes are separated out. There are various stages of production that need to be thought out. In the same way, each stage of education has its parts you must complete. In elementary school, its grades K-5. Then, you must complete secondary education (grade 9-12). It goes on like this and yet, this assumes that everyone has the same starting point and will be on the same page as they progress in their education. Much like one would expect a machine to progress through the factory production line. We are hardly machines.

Despite our need to separate subjects within the educational system and likewise grade levels, they often blend together. I think this is part of Latour's problem with the idea of modernity. We claim to separate things, but in practice, subjects become hybrids. He argues that when there is overlap in subjects, we cease to be modern and go back to being pre-modern. This contradiction is what has lead to postmodernism.

The idea that we need to see the overlap in subjects, much like an anthropologist blends culture, nature, and human interaction in study, seems very important with concern for education. In the U.S. Education system, we see this same inability to recognize overlap in some cases and ignore in others. For instance, in high school, the subjects are separated out. Except for math and science, teachers do not try to help students see how interdisciplinary subjects can be. Very rarely does history teacher delve into literature or science. However, in college, students are expected to start making these connections despite having been taught otherwise for their whole lives.

Coming from a liberal education background, I agree with Latour's claim that we need some sort of way to look at the overlap. Is hybridization a bad thing? I don't necessarily think so. Maybe his concern is with modernists and post-modernists persistence in pretending there is no nature-culture overlap. However, to acknowledge it, would mean rethinking many ways of knowing. Radical change doesn't come over night, but I think that these ideas could be very useful in reforming how we do education in the U.S.