WHY DOES EMERSON CRITICIZE SCHOOLS AS BUREAUCRATIC INSTITUTIONS

WHY DOES EMERSON CRITICIZE SCHOOLS AS “BUREAUCRATIC INSTITUTIONS”? • A bureaucracy is "a body of non-elected government officials" and/or "an administrative policy-making group. “ In modern parlance, bureaucracy refers to the administrative system governing any large institution. The word "bureaucracy" has developed negative connotations for some. Bureaucracies are criticized for their complexity, their inefficiency, and their inflexibility. • “work for large classes instead of individuals” • “grow departmental, routinary, military almost with [their] discipline and college police” • “children not treated as high-born candidates of truth and virtue”

3 EXAMPLES OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND THEIR EFFECT • Para 10 – “the college was to be the nurse and home of genius” • “nurse” = nurturing, aiding, caretaker • “home” = flourish, grow, safe • Para 10 – “you must lower your flag and reef your sails to wait for the dull sailors” • analogy emphasizes the difficulty for teachers to cater to all needs in a large classroom • Para 12 – “this calomel of culture should be a popular medicine… total abstinence from this drug” • “calomel of culture” = “laxative” qualities of this school culture Emerson describes – popular for teachers to use “quick fix” • “abstain from this drug” = stay away from quick fix and engage in hard work of guiding individuals

REPHRASE IN MODERN LANGUAGE • “And yet the familiar observation of the universal compensations might suggest the fear that so summary a stop of bad humor was more jeopardous than its continuance. ” • “And yet the familiar observation of the universal compensations might suggest…” • “Popular wisdom suggests…” • “so summary a stop of bad humor” • “stopping something bad” • “was more jeopardous” • “is more dangerous” • “than its continuance” • “than its going on/continuing”

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME… • What are some modern problems highlighted by Emerson?