How Well Does the Watchtower Educate? (page 4)

owenfieldreams

the only aspect that I personally seemed to derive some longterm benefit from was the public speaking done in the TMS. Other than that their efforts to "educate" are pretty weak, IMO.

AuldSoul

They provided nothing that can't be gained from public speaking courses/marketing courses. They also intentionally instilled many anti-social behaviors and responses.

I wouldn't say they educated very well at all. I would say I received a very good education at the local Public Library.

Did I become more fearless when it comes to speaking to others in a salesman/convincing role? Yes. Did they do one thing for helping me develop better communication and social skills outside that narrow environment? No.

On the whole, I know plenty of people who were better educated than JWs through public school and college. Even JWs who graduated public school as Valedictorians were societally stunted and immature.

I can credit them with helping me learn to spot manipulative reasoning, but that wasn't something they intended to teach me.

Good to see you, TheWanderer!

Respectfully,
AuldSoul

LongHairGal

Hi Rich:

I am in agreement with the posts here. The "education" provided by the TMS was fair in that it gave somebody some confidence to speak publicly - especially if they were a shrinking violet. It was also good in the fact it was free. But, in no way does it compare to any "wordly" school of public speaking. As far as the magazines being equal to a college education, I heard that one too. Very funny.

The only thing I will say in their favor is that their education was good - when compared to actual illiteracy. This is like saying potato chips and hotdogs are a good diet when compared to starvation.

LHG

OnTheWayOut

annointed

Isn't it "anointed" ? If that helps prove your point.

I am going to answer this question differently. What kind of answers did you expect, Wanderer?

Before I was a JW, I was quiet and slightly introverted. I learned to talk to strangers and make
conversation with fellow believers and assert myself. That's not an education, but training.

The tradeoff- I thought God had given his attention to me, now I know that didn't happen, so
I distrust all religion, I am bitter, and I either need to avoid saying JW's are a cult, or my mother
might stop talking to me and my wife will think I was reached by the devil. Nice trade for some
training.

johnny cip

Wanderer: good topic. i have found jw's to be very UNEDUCATED in what they believe. i stood up to every elder P.O. C.o. bethelite they COULD FIND . this went on for a few years 1998-2002. I only did a few months if reaseach. on the wts and bible topics. as the questions were asked of me. I can honestly say, next to no jw HEAVY HITTER they put in front of me, lasted more than 30 minutes. i pissed off most all of them. aND MADE THEM LOOK LIKE DOPES. the pleasure of talkin g to a 50 year jw is making him look like a stupid recording machine. with no facts. if you know how to do it. it's easier than taking candy from a baby. i'm sure i'm one of the best . at making any jw shit in their pants. john

VM44

A Watchtower Education is an Education in Sophistry!

--VM44

Kaput

I think an education by the borg is equivalent to any college degree. I'm sure that 4 yrs. at UAwake? ranks right up there with 4 yrs. at UPenn, UMass, UConn, etc. Yeah, right.

Jim_TX

I have been away from the JWs for a while now, but seem to remember reading the Awake's and Watchtowers waaaay back when I was a JW.

Someone ought to put the text of the Awake through a 'sentence analyzer' that some Word-Processors have built-in, and that spit out an 'educatiuon level' analysis. I'm betting that the result will be somewhere around a 7-th or 8-th grade level... not college level.

After all... think about the education level that the WTBTS is attempting to aim at. They have to appeal to adults - who may have been fortunate enough to graduate after 12 years (if they weren't home-schooled), and also pre-teen and teenagers. If they make their sentences (and information provided) too complex, the younger ones won't be able to understnad it - if they make their sentences too simple, they will bore the 12-th graders out there - so they aim somewhere in-between.

I think that this may be one reason (not the only reason, though) that they discourage college educations (at least from within). If the masses got educated, their reading abilities and level of thinking would be waaaaaay beyond what is being published - and the masses would yawn and look to some more stimulating reading material.

This may also explain why - for the most part - the ones attracted to the JWs seem to have little education beyond High School... and many are drop-outs who didn't complete grade school (at least - from memory - that is what I remember was the case, locally).

Of course... I also seem to remember having to be the 'reader' for those Tuesday-night book studies, back when they were going through the big read 'Babylon' book... some of those quotes and names were very difficult for a teenaged-pimple-faced-kiddo like me.

Did I personally get anything out of their 'education'? I think I may have been helped to speak in front of others (I just gave 6-minute talks on Thursday - mostly doing 'Thursday-night miracles')... now I also learned to do a bit of this in grade school - doing verbal book reports, and reciting poetry in front of the class.

Regards,

Jim TX

How Well Does the Watchtower Educate?

Share this