Father of France

Chapter 244 Repressive Science Education

As educators, Seléstan Freyner and Henri Valon were naturally unaware of Corman's ulterior motives, but they still came and saw the rather mediocre officer and the striking woman before them—a truly remarkable pair.

Humans are visual creatures, and the two men described as old men were no exception. When their eyes fell on Ava Gardner, they both showed a look of amazement.

"You seem to be much more famous than me," Koeman said in a low voice, not out of sourness, but simply to be completely objective and fair.

In fact, an actress who switched careers to Europe, and who wasn't even a second-tier star, did achieve greater fame than when she was an actress, mainly because she was wealthy.

The United States is a purely capitalist country, and its worship of money and power is unimaginable to European countries. This is depicted in detail in the cartoon Tom and Jerry, which Koman considers a form of cultural invasion.

"Welcome, two esteemed educators." Koman stood in front of Eva Gardner, blocking the two old men's view.

There wasn't a particular reason. Eva Gardner did have a talent for languages, but it was only within the realm of ordinary people. It would be more appropriate for Corman, a genuine Frenchman, to handle the communication.

As soon as he finished speaking, a military vehicle pulled up in front of the restaurant. Martin hurriedly got out and apologized as soon as he entered, saying, "I had some business at the Military Police Headquarters, so I asked for leave to come here."

“It’s not too late,” Coman said succinctly, inviting a few guests to sit down and beginning to explain the establishment of an overseas provincial education system.

Currently, including Syrian Christian immigrants, Axis prisoners of war and laborers, including even Yugoslavs, as well as previous French immigrants, and local Muslims in overseas departments, the total population is about 12.6 million, of which 4 million are non-Muslims and the rest are Muslims.

Among them, French immigrants and the population of the Axis powers (excluding Yugoslavia) did not need to worry about education, and their level was similar to that of Europe.

However, Maronite Christians are slightly better than Muslims, but not by a significant margin; the difference lies in the scripture they recite.

If we include Syrian Christians who have immigrated to overseas provinces, the education level of this 10 million people is roughly equivalent to that of an agricultural country. Koman estimates that the typical education level of an agricultural country is similar to that of East Asia, and these 10 million people will all need to be integrated into the new education system.

Hearing this description involving the education system covering ten million people, Henry Wallon couldn't help but show joy. This perfectly aligned with the Wallonian school's principle that all children, regardless of their social background, should receive an equal education. He couldn't help but agree, saying, "Undoubtedly, a magnificent feat."

Martin opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. Even the vase next to her named Ava Gardner hadn't said anything. How could his relationship with her, who shared a bed with her, compare?
Henri Wallon was mistaken. Compared to the Wallon School's individualized education philosophy, the repressive education that Corman was truly preparing to implement first covered the overseas departments, and second covered the entire French African countries.

Henri Valon nearly swallowed his praise. "Why do this? This idea goes against the spirit of France."

“Liberty, equality, and fraternity, I know. But this is the educational approach that best aligns with national strategy. The other side of the Mediterranean doesn’t have the conditions for a homeland,” Koeman explained calmly. “Moreover, environmentally speaking, the natural conditions in French Africa are definitely not good and cannot be compared to those on the mainland.”

The foundation and core of this education system is to establish the understanding that French African countries simply cannot survive without France.

Even from a global perspective, the natural conditions of the French African colonies were certainly better than those of the Roof of the World and the polar climates; there were basically no other climates worse than those of the Arctic.

This is certainly something that can be overcome. The basis for this is that French Africa is large enough. If it were just Chad, a single colony with desert and no coastline, Koeman would have simply kicked Chad out and told the Chadians to get out.

But since Chad is only part of French Africa, it's worth a try.

Although the Sahara Desert is vast, French Africa is not all desert. Railways can be built around the Atlantic coastline; it's just a matter of cost.

The so-called "places that are not contested by military strategists" and "places that are contested by military strategists" are all because they are small. If the territory is large enough, there will be more choices.

"Education should focus on improving the social foundation of French Africa as a whole. We shouldn't get bogged down in the methods; if we can inspire the local people's ambition, why should we care about the methods?" Compared to the psychologist Henri Varon, Seléstein Freyner had a clearer understanding of this issue. One of Seléstein Freyner's attempts as an educator, which would be more understandable in a major Eastern country, would be the school blackboard bulletin board.

The student council typesets and prints their own articles, poems, and investigation reports using movable type printing, then binds them into class newspapers or magazines for exchange both inside and outside the school.

Unlike Henri Varon, Selstein Freyner asked his own question, "It seems that the plans for newly established universities in the overseas provinces are all in STEM fields. Why is that?"

“Of course, it’s because of the nature of science and engineering.” Could Koman say that he secretly disliked women and blocked out black people? Of course he couldn’t say that, even if that was what he thought. So he asked instead, “What level of mastery of advanced algebra is considered in the field of mathematics?”

“It’s like you’ve just learned to read.” Although Selestan Freyner wasn’t a mathematician, he answered bluntly, “In the field of mathematics, higher algebra is only considered part of compulsory education. Mathematics is a discipline that is absolutely pure and unadulterated; it’s not like…”

“He’s not like a humanities student, whose final grade is easily influenced by subjective factors, and whose fate largely depends on the whims of academic magnates,” Koeman continued, following up on Selerstan Freyner’s words. “But in reality, a large proportion of students’ greatest potential is just to get close to the edge of advanced algebra.”

In the world of cultivation, learning advanced algebra is roughly equivalent to the first level of Qi Refining, while Gauss and Euler are equivalent to Immortal Emperor level experts.

"Since the major knew about this, why did you do it?" Selstein Freyner asked with a puzzled look. Why invest so much money just to select science and engineering talents?

“Of course, it’s similar to your idea,” Koeman said with a chuckle. “Who do you think is the greatest scholar since the dawn of humanity? What do Americans think?”

Feeling Koeman's gaze, Eva Gardner, though puzzled, still answered, "Einstein."

Upon hearing this, both Seléstein Freyner and Henri Varon shook their heads and gave their answers almost simultaneously: "Newton."

“When I was fighting overseas, I came into contact with many civilizations, including some from East Asia and South Asia. Before that, I lived in Damascus and met some Arab scholars, such as the two founders of the Arab Socialist Party. Many people from these civilizations believed that they should not have faced such a fate, and that colonial countries were immoral. Colonial policies were indeed immoral, but the reasons they gave were not convincing. There is a movie called Lawrence of Arabia, in which the Arab rulers used their glorious history to despise the British.”

Koeman shrugged. “Actually, Newton alone is more important than all the brilliant figures of all the civilizations of the past few thousand years. Newton’s achievements can be quantified, just like the characteristics of science and engineering, and there is no room for error. As for what the Arab rulers said about Lawrence, it is a standard case of confusing concepts. Arab civilization is not unique; many civilizations have made great achievements. What I mean is that many civilizations always use literary concepts to express emotions.”

Because of Newton's existence, Coleman felt that France's defeat at the hands of England was not unjustified at all. Coleman remembered that in his previous life, Mohammed was ranked first in a ranking survey, while Newton was only ranked second.

If we disregard the concept of science, Muhammad would undoubtedly be ranked first. He was the last religious figure to emerge, yet he expanded the fastest and had the greatest influence across Eurasia. Such a figure is judged solely by his influence.

But now that the concept of science has emerged, the saying "there is no first place in literature and no second place in martial arts" no longer applies. Science, especially mathematics, is like a formula that can distinguish between first and second place.

If you get the calculation right, you get 100 points; if you get it wrong, you get zero points. There's no such thing as getting 60 points if you get the process right.

"The religious beliefs of the overseas departments are complex. It's useless to debate from a religious perspective, and the locals don't feel the same way about how great France is from a civilizational perspective. Of course, this kind of work needs to be done, and I can discuss it with you two later. Let's talk about science and engineering issues first."

Koeman explained his approach: "Why did Germany win the World War? Because the industrial strength of the Soviet Union and the United States was overwhelmingly superior to that of Germany. This can be proven by all quantifiable data, such as steel production and oil production. The partitioning and occupation of Germany is the answer to this question. We cannot defeat the legacy of Muhammad through things that cannot be quantified, such as religion and civilization. Debates will ultimately yield no results. But we can use the results from science and engineering to tell them that a mistake is a mistake."

"A very novel idea." After listening, Selstein Freyner and Henri Varon felt that it made some sense, but it also seemed to make no sense at all.

Why does Koeman dare to make such outrageous statements? Because in literature there is no first place, but in martial arts there is no second. We are just discussing these issues, not solving math problems and applying formulas. Who can prove that what he is saying is wrong?

(End of this chapter)