Rip and Burn

This seemingly boring lecture at start soon became very interesting, not because of the content that was be spoken about; but because of the possible ramifications that could have happened if what passed had not. I couldn't imagine a path that lead to a world that was technologically stifled. I suppose it wouldn't be much different than the dark ages where science and the pursuit of knowledge was frowned upon and even persecuted. As our entire culture got stuck in a six hundred year pause, our development drastically slowed. If what had happened during the Beta max controversy had not passed then I believe we would have been trapped in yet another pause of our cultural/scientific development.

A summary of my reactions? Crash Course

Well, well, the "crash course" was very interesting and definitely an eye opener. I felt that the movie made me want to go spend money because its value is decreasing along with save more so I will have a good base to live and grow from if there is some sort of collapse or extraordinary weakening of the economy. I felt overwhelmed and under whelmed at points, I learned more than I could have imagined.

When it comes to how I think this could affect my career in education I first look to what is going on now. As of right now i feel that students know too much about what is going on at a home and that their lives are far more scheduled than mine was. I fear that as the next twenty years begins to progress students will know more and more about the strains that are reaching their family both socially and financially. I think a larger portion of our students will be faced with issues that are far beyond their years and will need addition school and education on how to manage with this new "drama". Students are going to need practical knowledge about the world they live in. Thus when teaching relating what happened in the past to what is happening presently will be incredibly helpful. Making the content obtainable and reachable will be key to preparing tomorrow's generation for the very unsure future that is ahead of us.

Beyond that I think the school will become an even more grounding and centering place for a larger portion of the students. School will be a stabling force for a child who many only see their parents a few short rushed hours a day. I grew up in a generation where more and more families were two income to keep up with the raising costs of living, and I think as I start to teach that the students I encounter will be the generation where more and more students will be living with in a family where one if not both of their parents will have two jobs.

"The next 20 years isn't going to be anything like the last 20yrs"

First things first, let me just release for a moment before I get to the meat of it all. Chris Martenson makes it explicitly clear that the next 20 yrs will be nothing like the last 20 yrs, that most new points should occupy our highest attention, exponential formulas are increasingly hard for most of mainstream America to understand and that he'll get back to a lot of points that he initially brings up. Also it was defiantly a crash course, the amount of information was outstanding and even a little overwhelming at times. Sometimes I felt as is the way the information was being explained to me was in a fashion that was below my level of understanding while some parts were above. It was wildly interesting to watch but also immensely intense.

But enough about that down to what all this information means for our future. One thing that i found was interesting was that i was bale to watch the movie with my mother and hearing her opinion and reaction the same information was an enlightening experience. In my naivety I can understand the dire needs that are facing us and how the past is shaping our future, however at the same time I'm not feeling the same pressure and potential upset that these changes are causing. I haven't had to take care of myself on my own yet, I've been able to have protection from outside sources thus far. and haven't experienced extreme turmoil in my life fiscally. But my mother has she could look at those graphs and remember the little bumps and how dramatic they were and then to scan over to the right and see that huge hockey stick shape, and have a minor heart attack seeing that the bump we are in is the size of a mountain in comparison to the previous bumps. Seeing my mom's reactions strikes fear into me, because I see that rising line and know that all things that go up must come down and it scares me to know that that downturn is well within in my future.

Really when it comes down to it all, the issues that we are facing are not new in any way but the natural equalizer to the up turn/the solutions to have been unnaturally usurped by past governmental organizations. When we start to tweak the natural flow of things then we tend to get ourselves in trouble, e.g. high levels of hormones in our food causing early physical maturation, the only way we can get around this is to prepare for a potential melt down of cosmic proportions. Also the change that has to occur is so large that I'm not sure the undertaking can happen unless everyone assists. Nearly every facet of our social structure has to change how we react to money, how we use and harness energy, how we attempt to answer the constraints of our world, ... and I could continue to go on for some time.

When considering the possible implications professionally I can't even fathom what might come of these problems. The only things I can think of is that as a teacher I might be dealing with many more broken homes more students relying on the system to support them along with students who are far to aware of their families' financial constraints and issues that are facing their family as a whole. This is going to cause students to grow up at an alarming rate, even faster than they already are. They are going to have to deal with conflict and stress that is beyond their years and it is going to infiltrate their learning. So not only will they be getting bits of at home but they will be encountering it on the school front as well. At this point it is all speculation like Chris said he can't predict what is going to happen or how serious it will end up being, and neither can I. I can merely identify possible things that could occurs in our future.