Well, I was going to post a rant here, but there's a couple good ones already, so I won't.
I will add one more thing that I don't see mentioned anywhere, and I think it's the largest problem of the bunch: Most people don't want to think; they'd _rather_ just accept authority.
This boggles me, but it seems to be so. I don't like it; I wish I knew how to correct it, but I don't.
And trying to teach someone how to do something that they actively don't want to do is an exercise in futility. Now, we need to teach this anyway, so that the precious ones who can benefit from it do, but I see no hope of most people getting anything out of it.
So, it follows that since most people would rather accept authority, it is crucially important that authority supply the most accurate information available.
Ugh. A better point than I'd really like to accept.
But I wonder ... can that not-wanting-to-think be overcome -- at least for long enough to get the basics inserted into their brains -- by starting young enough, when children are still exploring and discovering their world at speed, before they've fallen into "just tell me" habits.
This does, of course, reflect a distinctly Montessori way of thinking about young students. :-) Which may make it harder to implement in US public schools. :-(
If it can, I don't think schools can do it; much as I am grateful to my early educators for the fine job they did, I truly believe that it would've been for naught with the encouragement and support of my parents.
Although, amusingly, I eventually realized that Dad's point of view was that I should question all authority except his. Unfortunately for him, I missed that modifying clause until too late...
(no subject)
I will add one more thing that I don't see mentioned anywhere, and I think it's the largest problem of the bunch: Most people don't want to think; they'd _rather_ just accept authority.
This boggles me, but it seems to be so. I don't like it; I wish I knew how to correct it, but I don't.
And trying to teach someone how to do something that they actively don't want to do is an exercise in futility. Now, we need to teach this anyway, so that the precious ones who can benefit from it do, but I see no hope of most people getting anything out of it.
So, it follows that since most people would rather accept authority, it is crucially important that authority supply the most accurate information available.
(no subject)
But I wonder ... can that not-wanting-to-think be overcome -- at least for long enough to get the basics inserted into their brains -- by starting young enough, when children are still exploring and discovering their world at speed, before they've fallen into "just tell me" habits.
This does, of course, reflect a distinctly Montessori way of thinking about young students. :-) Which may make it harder to implement in US public schools. :-(
(no subject)
I don't know.
If it can, I don't think schools can do it; much as I am grateful to my early educators for the fine job they did, I truly believe that it would've been for naught with the encouragement and support of my parents.
Although, amusingly, I eventually realized that Dad's point of view was that I should question all authority except his. Unfortunately for him, I missed that modifying clause until too late...