Thoughts about education in the post-apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead

In AMC's popular television series of The Walking Dead, the world as we know it has ended. Some virus has turned the dead into flesh-eating mindless creatures, and there are many more dead than living people. In this world, all the institutions have collapsed; there is no society, media, police, army, or any organized society outside small groups of people. Even though this is a fictional world, a somewhat similar collapse of civilization is possible due to climate change, epidemics, or major catastrophes. Therefore, it is interesting to ponder what the characters in The Walking Dead related to organizing education and what they maybe should have done. 

The first days after the collapse are all about surviving. People start to teach each other practical survival skills (like fishing) and self-defense tactics when time passes. They have pretty organized shooting lessons, and they give each other advice on how to combat zombies. There is a heated debate on whether children should learn self-defense skills or remain children as long as possible. This goes so far that some people teach children self-defense skills in secret, believing that there will be no future for them unless they learn to defend themselves. In addition to these practical skills, there is no education about history, arts, math, or anything we think is important to learn today. 

From the viewpoint of the economics of education, this is reasonable (at least in the short run). The world is so different that they do not need to know history, arts, etc., to survive. But is it only about physical survival? Or should it be that human intelligence, human-built societies, and human knowledge also need to survive? One of the characters in the Walking Dead television series, Dale Horvath, reasons (in season 2) about morals and if it is needed in the new world: "The world we knew is gone, but keeping our humanity? That's a choice" In a bit similar way of thinking, should it is a choice to keep the level of human knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom of crowds intact, even though the world has changed. 

Science of education is interested in how people develop and learn. It is closely related to education psychology (how people learn), education sociology (how people behave in groups), and philosophy of education (pondering what is essential to learn and why). In the long run, when it is not just about immediate survival, it might be wise to consider how to transfer the wisdom of the old world to the new. Furthermore, it would be necessary to carefully deliberate what skills people can learn from each other and what skills people need in this unique situation to survive? In other words, it is essential to think about the growth (and maintenance) of human capital in this new world, which is in line with the idea of the economics of education. The surviving groups compete fiercely from scarce resources, and human capital plays an essential part in this. 

In the world of The Walking Dead, they realize pretty soon that doctors are a great asset. Even a vet is much better than nothing when doing surgeries in elementary environments. A valuable person can also make weapons or bullets for the endless number of guns they seem to have. There is teaching in a form that doctors and weapon makers have apprentices who teach their skills, but there is little organized teaching. According to Hirsijärvi (1982, p. 131), teaching is intentional interaction that aims to learn new skills and information. When teaching is organized and institutionalized, it is education or schooling (Hirsijärvi 1982, p. 95). As Hirsijärvi (1982, p. 72-73) writes, education has two main functions. Firstly, it is an institution with a cohesive unifying role in society because education passes on the cultural property (values and common knowledge) to new generations. Secondly, it is an institution that renews society because one of the central goals of education is to promote the individuality and uniqueness of each individual, which in turn influences the emergence of a new culture. 

These needs of education and teaching in a post-apocalyptic world are gathered in the figure below. First, it is all about surviving the next day (or even the moment). In this phase, people mainly share knowledge and help each other. People are thinking a few days or even months ahead in the short run. The Walking Dead primarily uses the apprentice system, but they could organize a better schooling system. It would be advisable that some people specialize in certain subjects and teach others what they know in the long run. These skills are about surviving decades and outperforming other hostile surviving groups. In my opinion, the next phase would be to restore the world to its condition today. This means getting rid of the virus building civilized societies that live in wealth and harmony. But choosing this particular aim is a normative question. Is our world the best of all possible worlds? One of the most appealing ideas in post-apocalyptic stories is the idea of starting from the beginning, building something new - better systems, better world. 

References:

AMC The Walking Dead television series 

Hirsijärvi, Sirkka (1982): ”Kasvatustieteen käsitteistö”, Otava, Keuruu