Coming back in time, Voltaire managed to create a new space for discussion concerning public school education in the United States. In modern times, the philosopher’s critical eye did not miss all of the drawbacks that this issue presents. On the contrary, the author called the reader’s attention to his new tale that awakened Washington. Recently, the world has been shaken by Voltaire’s new thought-provoking book Floris dedicated to slavery. Nothing comes to mind when one hears about slavery in the United States of America. However, Voltaire, having come back to this world, experienced a tremendous breakdown that resulted from American education at schools. Seemingly, the title Floris is closely connected with Voltaire’s previous book Candide and its popular catchwords “We must cultivate our garden.” In his new work, the philosopher ridicules American school education and shows all the problems in the light of his biting satire.
The author sheds light on the slavery of public school education in the U.S. His main purpose is to demonstrate the absurdity of the above-mentioned education and prove that an average American public school has become a laboratory of experimentation on the young minds. To accomplish this task, Voltaire creates a six-year-old child-narrator, Floris, who enters school education. Floris’s way at school is not an easy one due to the reason that teachers fetter the children and make experiments on their brains and physical power. Children understand the notion of slavery and treat it in a becoming manner.
However, Voltaire changes his writing style according to the peculiar post-modern features to be understandable, claiming that nowadays people are interested only in post-modern books. The first pages of the book show that Floris cannot write properly because he is a child. Every year, he can write new words and apply them to new contexts. In such a manner, Voltaire shows that Floris’s education is under threat. Then, the author creates another narrator who is a spectator that used to be taught in a private school. His writing is marked with a clear and captivating style. Thus, Voltaire shows the difference between public and private education. He focuses on the fact that although private education has its own drawbacks, the public one is a far cry from convenience.
The first thing that the author criticizes is the school’s law that consists of the prohibition of using books. The school libraries have converted into the experimental laboratories by setting on fire all the books. Voltaire puts an emphasis on the fact that schools actually lack resources and do not have any teaching materials. The author directs his strong complaints to the government by attacking it in a manner that is quite cruel. However, such an attitude can be justified. As a matter of fact, it ought to be said that schools are in terrible condition. The enrollments are greater than they should be, so the classes are held in the hallways. There is no equipment and material to study as there are no libraries that can provide children with the necessary books. The educational faculties fail as well as it is not necessary to learn any foreign language, take courses in Shakespeare, and study American history.
Interestingly, the main character Floris has the opportunity to travel around the world as his parents are welcomed in Finland. As the family travels, he notices a tremendous variety of things that are actually different from American society. His parents provide him with the opportunity to visit some English courses at a local school. The matter is that Finnish education is popular all over the world because of the students’ and teachers’ achievements in the process of learning. It remains the best one because of the PISA results. The interesting point here is that the Finnish education is based on a system that is entirely different from the American one due to a number of significant reforms that were introduced in order to improve the education in the country. Thus, Floris encounters a system that is radically different and child-oriented. In such a way, Voltaire manages to show that American education stands in contrast to the Finnish one.
