A note about value

I have read a number of books and articles that explain the underlying theory of how the brain developed over time into what we have now.  The theory states that the brain developed in a way so as to help humans survive long enough to reproduce and ensure the survival of the species.  Such a view places great emphasis on environment, but even more emphasis on what is encoded into the DNA for the next generation.

So, in order for the brain to develop to another stage it has to know what is important as opposed to what merely happens and is routine or unimportant.  That means the brain also assigns value.  What is the value of anything that happens?  Is the event tagged with a rank order number, or is the value assigned according to a binary system of "This is important/This is not important."  If the former, then what is tagged with something less than most important has a probability of entering into a decision that is made for survival or reproduction at less than 100% (and could be as low as a single digit percentage).  If the latter, then everything deemed important is relative to survival or reproduction, but for the moment only.  Otherwise it has no value.  Each decision is relative to the event and the circumstances surrounding it.

That's when I begin thinking of our reason for education, and more to the point, education of the masses.  The curriculum does not relate to survival and reproduction by either type of value system.  Do children see that what they learn as having anything to do with survival of the species?  No.  Which means that they assign a low value number to the educational events in their lives (according to the rank order idea) as it relates to their survival.  Or worse, it means that they assign no value to the educational events in their lives (according to the binary system) as it relates to their survival.

School is supposed to prepare one for success.  First and foremost is the success as it relates to survival of the species.  So, curriculum will die (albeit a rather slow death) on its own because it is not related to the way the brain is constructed, or the species will shrink because survival didn't hold its a priori place.
Well... I am trying to do my part to pass on to posterity what puts bread on the table.  That's the universal bottom line.

(Or the theory could be wrong, of course, in which case our schools are performing magnificently since the curriculum now is better than it ever has been).