In continuing to examine how our systems are interconnected it is important to look at the education, college, and workforce systems. These three systems alone go hand in hand, but they also are interwoven with the healthcare system and the energy system.
Mr. Rockefeller was heavily involved in the educational system by founding the General Education Board with an initial $1 million dollar investment in 1902. That would be the equivalent of over $31 billion in today’s economy. Rockefeller would go on to give over $180 million to fund the board. The General Education Board is said to have decided what materials would be included in textbooks and taught to students.
As we are seeing Rockefeller invested in and influenced many systems during their inception between 1900-1915. Rockefeller invested in the healthcare system which you can read about in more detail in this blog post, and I will discuss his involvement in the energy system through oil and gas in the future as well as his influence in the monetary system. The amount of influence and power amassed by one man is fascinating to study.
Coming out of the Industrial Revolution, these investments were pivotal for Rockefeller to continue to increase his revenue. In order for him to do so, however, he had to have people believing in what he believed in to support his vision. He needed employees working for him rather than working for themselves.
Rockefeller was very adept with human nature and even hired publicity experts Ivy Lee and George Parker who also advised the Nazis in WWII. Lee and Parker convinced soldiers to carry out genocide by compartmentalizing the soldiers and limiting their access to information. You can read more about the impacts centralization and control have here. Lee and Parker were hired to create and carry out campaigns to desire oil over coal, accept the concept of a job, and to participate in the newly adopted education system.
The education system was a means to mold future workers for Rockefeller’s factories and oil fields. The school routine normalized a 9-5 workday. During this time, education based upon rote memory was created. While we are over 100 years into relying upon the education system, the system has not evolved too far. It still largely teaches by memorization rather than teaching how to learn.
Has your success beyond school been dependent upon the content you learned in school? Did you learn how to process your emotions, or create massive amounts of wealth so you could influence whatever issues are near and dear to your heart? Did you learn how human nature works, or how to challenge, test, and build your own belief systems? Did you learn how to learn? It’s interesting to see the very factors that led to Rockefeller’s massive success did not make it into the textbooks for all to learn.
When teaching by memorization at such a young, formative age controlling the material being memorized, belief systems are created that most don’t see outside of. It can be said the school routine mirrored that of a 40 hour work week and molded children to come to believe this lifestyle is normal. Kids are further trained in routine as the school bell signals when they can move, go to the bathroom, have lunch, talk to one another, and so on. It was important in factory work to have loyal employees at their assigned tasks and stations when they needed to be there. Further, factory employees needed to be able to memorize their task and then repeat it over and over again.
While the government now oversees the education system it did not build it. Rockefeller was transparent with what he desired as he is quoted “I don’t want a nation of thinkers, I want a nation of workers.” And Rockefeller wasn’t alone in his efforts. The members of the General Education Board were primarily bankers and businessmen.
We’re never too old to learn a new trick! I have found learning the things I wasn’t taught in school have led to my greatest fulfillment and enjoyment in life. By learning energy psychology, emotional processing, human nature and personality structure, testing my beliefs and claiming truer truths, hearing and trusting my inner guidance or intuition, and learning how to learn I was able to ditch a very dissatisfying life I used to lead.
What new things could you learn to cultivate your personal liberation?
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Peace & Love,
Janessa