September 21, 2009
A new school year begins in the UAE and so too does the latest effort to create world-class schools to produce graduates for a knowledge-based economy. For the country to continue to adapt, its educational system must be reformed.
But as in years past, the current efforts for reform appear to stress the accumulation of information and being able to apply it to practical use. There is much lip service about the idea of teaching pupils how to think but very little in practice. Mark Twain’s quip about the weather may describe the situation best: “Everybody talks about it but no one does anything about it.”
Most schools claim that they teach thinking, and most of them may actually think that they teach thinking. But the ability of schools to analyse what they are doing in the classroom is abysmal. My researchers and I have visited schools throughout this country, the region and throughout the world. We have visited very expensive schools that offer the International Baccalaureate curriculum and claim that they teach thinking. The basic result: they teach the content of the subject and hope that somehow students will learn how to think about it on their own.
Click here to continue reading: The National
15 comments:
I hate reports like this, where someone suddenly thinks of something that is actually useful, but talk complete garbage out of their mouths. You cannot teach people how to think, and all those steps in that article are useless. If you really want to know how to think, then go read a beginner's philosophy book. Teachers are not put in schools to think, they are put in schools to try and get the school to increase the average grade output every year, so that the school can raise the price, and thats it. Everyone can think, one of the special human abilities, but to focus their thinking? I recommend for people who think all the time, and people who dont, to read philosophy. None of that UFO nonsense, and suspicions, but actually, an indepth historical book that seems like history, but is actually the basics of philosophy.
Mo,
I don't think it's fair to tar all teachers with the same brush. Some of us are sincere about education and the teaching and learning process. We have nothing to do with the areas you mention, like fees etc. But you're right - it's vital for all people - not just students - to be familiar with History and Philosophy.
As the philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it."
I dont mean it as an insult, more of reality, sorry for the misjudgement though. And the statement is very true.
One more thing, why don't schools teach philosophy anymore? They stopped it after the Hellenistic period. Why is that?
Why no philosophy in schools? For the same reason we don't have important subjects like Music. Even in our school there are very few takers for Art and Literature. Philosophy has no chance. However, one can take it in college.
Hmm... Ok. Thanks for the reply.
This is something I've heard members of my family discuss nuerous times.
It says in the article that you basically can't think - or know how to - without having knowledge. So schools focus so much on spoon feeding students this knowledge and the thinking part has been neglected for some unknown reason.
I do think that you can be triggered and learn how to think through many of the subjects that are taught in schools today, nt just philosophy or history. Look at Physics for example. Had that scince been taught properly - by that I mean it wasn't just theories and formulae - it would be fascinating to see where the students' minds would lead them.
Maybe some subjects, like Trigonometry are just pure knowledge, but then that would just balance out all the other subjects that do rquire substantial thought to be actually understood and appreciated. Languages, history, commerce subjects - excluding accounting I think - and arts are all so subjectice, we could write books on them. If only our schedule wasn't packed trying to remeber the Newton laws and the formula for breakeven points and overhead costs.
So can the education be reformed? I believe so, yes. We just need to dilute the curriculums a bit. I know it sounds like doiing so would depreciate the value of education, but I think otherwise. If we concentrate on less material, there'll be much more space for thoughts and generally character building. The knowledge acquired may be less, but the skills - which I believe are just as if not more important than the knowledge itself sometimes - will be absolutely magnificant. Also, look at it this way: If students are triogerred to actually think about he knowledge they acquire at school, will they not want to find out more about it - increase their own knowledge on their own?
Our School teachers always say that We dont test your knowledge but how you apply the knowledge to different cases that We give you.
So I dont think that Schools are'nt doing anything for this.Perhaps thats why We have a new lesson intorduced this year, Study Skills.But Im not sure whether in that Lesson We will be taught how to learn or to think.
Just as Nadine said, it must be approached on our own, you cannot teach someone how to think and what to think. Same way you cannot teach them what to like and what not to like, but, no-one is going to stand forward and change even a small inch in the curriculum, for it would cause a chain of problems to go off, and "thinking" isn't exactly something considered to be important.
Besides, study skills is a waste of time, if you really think about it, because the people who dont care will by fooling around, and then the people who do care will lose interest, thus resulting in everyone's boredom colliding into a compressed, pressurized ball, that is of complete ignorance.
I will just never understand why they can't put Philosophy, you could replace study skills and put that in, it will change your way of thinking. You will realise that when people are listening to someone explaining Philosophy, or something of interest to their minds, doesn't everyone go quiet? Doesn't that explain something about their minds? Something interesting will actually bury itself in our heads, and will stay there for a long time. I read a Philosophy book just once, (it takes me an hour to read about 20 pages, due to it being so mind-entrancing), and it changed the way i thought about everything, it cleared my mind, for life.
Well what I beleive is that school can only teach you new stuff. The way you decipher this information, or more broadly the way you think simply depends on the person himself/herself. No matter what every school says, that it teaches thinking, the maximum a school can do is give NEW knowledge.
And I agree with Mo Nour, I would really like to see Philosophy introduced to our subjects. Philosophy teaches you so much about the way human's actually think and will help students see life in a whole new way.
I couldn't have said this better myself.
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It saddens me how the world has been taken over by cynics. Not promoting blissful ignorance or anything like that in the least but still! It's a pet peeve of mine...
I would love to study philosophy, however.
In my opinion, the ability to think - actually, the capacity to think - is different for everyone. Some may have that ability but not want to tap it for fear of slumping into a perpetual state of depression, some may not want to for fear of being a ~nerd, some MAY want to but find that they just cannot, some may think way way wayyyy too much for their own good, and some may think just the right amount.
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the last one probably doesn't happen often, but nevermind that.
No one can teach a person how to think, but they can guide them down the path if that person is willing to take it though. That is what teachers and adults are trying to do,(well, most of them!!). I also agree with Mo about Philosophy and with Nadine about changing the ways of teaching certain subjects. If we participated in general thinking and opinion based answers we could also become great thinkers of our time and young generation, (not that so many of the intlligent youths out there aren't) but just to increase that percentage by even 1 percent could have an enormous impact on today's views and jugdements of how the world is run. THIS IS OUR GENERATION AND ITS TIME TO MAKE A STAND!!!
I believe that subjects shouldn't be taught just because they're meant to be taught, but to pass on the essence and importance of the subject. These formulae, calculations, laws and eticate are helping us learn, but they are thickening the mask that has been drawn over the actual SUBJECTS, hiding them from the general point of view.
I totally agree with Neiha- each person has their own capacity to think. This thinking cannot be forced out of someone and the parents or teachers who have tried to force thinking into students, as far as I know, have tried in vain. Every child has their own limits and pressurizing them to think with all of the given points in the articles is of no point.
And philosophy in school-really good idea.
Have you ever heard of a book by Edward de Bono called Teach your child to Think. My dad gave it to me to read and I usually frown because he always buys books like this for me. Yet when I read the book it did raise some points about how people think that teachers are meant to teach a child to "think". Yes and No.. the teacher guides you to that direction but you yourself learn how to think and not only intellectually because a "Smart" person doesnt have to have good thinking skills, just knows the facts. However a less intellectual person can have very good thinking skills. Its how we look at situations and interpret them and learn from them do we LEARN how to think.
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