[PaulHoule]

It's a toughie.

I think the Chromebook culture is a form of kneecapping that is harmful in its own way.

On the other hand we are seeing that the "open internet" is also harmful to children in terms of cyberbullying, pornography, etc.

My wife and I had a disagreement about letting my son (now 23) have my old desktop replacement laptop. As a child of the 1980s I saw the personal computer as a tool of liberation and something that taught me about math, science and technology at a personal level. In the 2010 my son found some dark corners of the internet that did him harm and I can say I know more than one of his cohort who had the same experience.

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I think of the bodies of thought from the 20th century that most needs to be revisited is the literature of "Total Institutions" including Goffman, Foucault, "One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest", etc.

The widespread distrust of authority is one factor that drove Donald Trump to power and leads to authoritarianism. If you think you are working for a dangerously authoritarian organization you should consider (i) disabusing yourself of that belief (e.g. you organization wields authority for a positive purpose) or (ii) getting another job.

[hnpolicestate]

"My wife and I had a disagreement about letting my son (now 23) have my old desktop replacement laptop."

But at least that's your son. We shouldn't outsource these difficult decisions to strangers, school, municipal, federal systems etc.

I wouldn't consider my organization dangerously authoritarian. But definitely authoritarian. I doubt any preferable locations exist in education. They all support this digital authoritarianism. Lastly, I don't have the economic means to just quit.

I can vent on HN though lol.

[PaulHoule]

Well I graduated from elementary school the same way Ender Wiggin did so I tend to think that elementary school students are like the kids in Lord of the Flies and could use some authority.

If the people who have authority aren't willing to use it they will create people who 15-65 years later will be craving for authority because they won't have internalized it. (e.g. that lack of internalization is infectious but can have different consequences) See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomie.

But seriously, your pension is a trap. If stress in your job raises your blood pressure enough you won't live to collect it. It's not just a matter of what your pocketbook can afford but what your body can afford.