I don't consider myself all that knowledgeable. The sheer amount of things I don't know is astounding. My education covers the basics, but there are a lot of things and areas of study I know nothing about. I have the standard college education that most people have nowadays. I don't have a Masters degree or a Doctorate. Just a normal undergrad degree. I got good grades in college, but not straight A's. All in all, I consider myself to be of about average intelligence and believe I have an average level of education.
Lately I've been in a Bible study with a group of fellow Christians. Most of the people in the group are my age or a little younger. For those who don't know, I'm 28. Anyway, most of the people in the study group are college graduates who are in their chosen career. A few are still in school pursuing graduate degrees.
The Bible study is structured in a discussion group format. One thing that struck me right from the start, was that people in the group seemed to be very ignorant of current events, history, philosophy, science, and the Bible. Many of the people are new Christians. So I could understand the lack of knowledge about the Bible. What I didn't understand, was the ignorance these people had of everything else!
I didn't know most of them that well before the beginning of the Bible study. Some of them I met for the first time at the study. At first I thought maybe I was just in a group of rather stupid people. I know, that isn't a very nice thing to think. But that was my first impression. There are plenty of stupid people in the world, and I just assumed that I had "lucked out" in getting stuck with a bunch of them. I was wrong.
After I got to know them a little better, I realized that my first impression wasn't fair at all. These people were just as intelligent and smart as I was. In fact I think a few of them are probably smarter than me. The problem was that most of them had never learned basic facts and information that I took for granted. Basic facts about history, philosophy, science, and current events that anyone with a high school or college education should know.
I really don't understand how they could ever have made it through college without knowing these things. I could understand not remembering details and dates. Remembering names and specifics of information you don't use in your daily life is not something most of us can do. So it's not surprising people would forget. But in this case, most of these people seem to have never heard of many of the concepts and facts that they should have learned in school.
The only conclusion I have come to is that they never learned things they should have. Why didn't they? Has our education system failed them? I don't know where things went wrong, but that kind of ignorance scares me. Smart intelligent people who don't know their own history, current events, and basic philosophy are easily swayed and deluded by corrupt politicians, con artists, and cult leaders. And that is scary.
16 comments:
I totally agree, Jamie. However, something you should realize is that you were homeschooled all 12 years and graduated from a private college. Sadly, that seems to make a big difference today.
I've seen in my own circles how public education is slacking today... and I'm afraid it's getting worse.:-/
Your right about my education not being a public school education, but my point about it being a normal average level of education still holds. Obviously, and people have been saying this for years, public education seems to have dropped considerably. I guess I just hadn't realized how much.
Jamie, speaking not to the method or quality but the content of your education, I exepct that both your high school and college education developed you in the topics of religion, philosophy, and history than most of our contemporaries.
That gives you not only an advantage over many of your contemporaries on your original college graduation date, but provides a framework for your activities and growth going forward.
With such privilege comes responsibility, you know!
Bill
This problem is only made worse by teaching students to learn with an eye to multiple-choice tests.
One of the things I notice is that many students - even at the college level - are literalists. They have not been taught a "feel" for language and its functions and nuances. Some students only ever project themselves and their own lives into a text, identify with a protagonist, and make moral judgments about their behavior. They may as well read a summary and leave it at that.
Teachers ought to be encouraging a lot more curiosity rather than stomping it out. The other thing that would make a huge difference is if young people did a lot more individual reading of all kinds. There is nothing like the experience of reading, and reading more, and reading still more. That's how you learn - eventually - HOW to read (and write, and argue) in a more sophisticated way.
It is also how you learn to grapple with texts that seem - at first - too difficult.
Beyond this, I think the weakest area is probably history. We have no interest, and short attention span.
To a large extent, I agree with you. Students need to read more to get a bigger more complete understanding of the world.
What seems to be lacking is that well rounded approach to education that institutions of higher education used to stress. Most people have a very narrow knowledge base. They are often well educated and even expert in whatever field they are working in, but are lacking in most others.
In Europe we hear from the "battle" of creationism versus darwinism in USA. There are documents (like films by Michale Moore seen here in cinemas) that (seem to?) reveal that it is probably not the intention of responsible persons that the people do know really very much respectively the really important things.
Unfortunately this is the impression many europeans have from the average american: ignorant, arrogant and egocentric ("USA is the greatest. I don't know really what it is. But there is nothing on the world but USA").
Even if people know that many very good and intelligent things come from America (and Americans ;-)
Alexander,
I'm not saying it is intentional that the education system has been dumbed down. I doubt that anyone wants to see our education system broken. And yet it seems to have been thoroughly watered down and seems to have become very narrow.
It's not that people are being taught the wrong things, it's more that they aren't being taught correctly. Or possibly aren't being taught at all. If they are being taught, they certainly aren't retaining it. Which reflects badly on the teachers/methods used.
The Creationism vs Darwinism debates are a different concern. The Creationism debates are about what should be taught, rather than about how it should be taught. Which is a completely different but no less important problem.
Jamie,
I think I understand what you mean.
But isn't it a composition of both?
On the one side you write people aren't being taught correctly on the other side you write that people aren't retaining what they had been taught irrespective of the teacher/ methods used.
Now what?
To my mind in pedagogics it is known that the methods and the teachers have a very great influence on what the audition retains. It is a big difference if you experience a good or a bad lecture.
What I meant with that creationsim/darwinsim-discussion is that there seem to be "forces" that seem not really to be interested in a open-minded and free way (!) to learn to see the world. For me it is a big difference if you (try to) teach: "you are obliged to believe every word as it's written, there is no space for interpretation, no space for your own observations or for your own thoughts" or if you teach the people to look, to see, to think, to draw their own conclusions and to develop their own philosophies.
I mentioned it as an example for the way (!) to think - and to teach.
You are right, these are two points of discussion.
But nevertheless they are very very tight linked together.
Sorry - I just realized that I misinterpreted the expression "to reflect badly" in your comment (I thought it would "not" reflect...)
You are right and clear in this point!
Alexander,
I agree with you in that both are a tightly linked part of the problem. Open mindedness is not taught by either side in these debates. Both the right and the left in this nation have the mentality that questions that might undermine some of their positions, should not be asked by students.
My frustration is not with the above so much as it is with the lack of general undisputed knowledge in students today. Basic facts and knowledge that is not controversial and is not in dispute seems to be lacking. I guess I wasn't clear enough when I said they are not being taught correctly. When I said that, I was referring to the methods or lack of them that leaves people without basic knowledge. But as I said, perhaps that basic knowledge is not being taught at all.
There will always be controversial subjects and disputed(rightly or not) facts that will be taught by one side or the other. There always have been. And the people teaching that particular fact or subject will discourage questioning of it. That is nothing new.
The problem is that if people lack basic knowledge and facts to put the controversial knowledge into context, They will not be capable of questioning or evaluating it. They will be unable to "look, to see, to think, to draw their own conclusions and to develop their own philosophies"
That is why ignorance is scary. Because when people are ignorant they don't know enough to know if the position they are being taught is correct or not.
[edit: No problem about the misinterpretation. I wasn't clear enough]
Jamie,
so we can conclude: we need more basic knowledge and better methods to teach it, to create a "coordinate system" and to convey the competence to discriminate the right from the wrong. And the impulse to dispute and to try to get to the bottom of the facts.
You see it. Other people see it.
I am wondering why the responsible persons don't seem to see it. Why the education system doesn't develop strategies to ameliorate this. Are they really interested?
Is it inability, is it carelessness or probably even an interest (?!) to keep people like this?
I read in a comment that there is a big difference between the public educational system and private institutions (as all over the world). But why is the public system so bad? Is it only a matter of money, only a matter of ability?
What can be done to "create a better world"?
Not only by "you and me". What can, what should be done by the official institutions, by the society?
[Note: CEST now is ~9:30pm - I'll be back tomorrow!]
Alexander,
Just wanted to say first off that I'm enjoying this discussion with you immensely. Hopefully we can continue it tomorrow.
I rather doubt that the problem has anything to do with money. I don't know how it is in the rest of the world, but in the US the majority of private schools and colleges have considerably less money per student than public schools. Public school teachers are also generally paid more than private school teachers as well. There are some of the more prestigious private schools that do have bigger budgets, but most do not. So I don't think that money is the problem.
I hesitate to say that it is deliberate. Mainly because I don't think it is in most cases. Students of any subject can come out of the public education system knowing their field very well. No matter what that field is. What they seem to lack is basic knowledge about any fields beyond their own. They may be an expert in their field, but won't know what any high school age student should know about other fields.
In one of the comments above, Hiedi mentioned that people don't read outside of their needs anymore. I think that is a big contributer to the extremely narrow education that most people have. By narrow, I don't mean to say "narrow minded" I mean their knowledge is very focused and not broad enough.
Good morning Jamie,
I also do appreciate the discussion with you very much.
You feel and describe well the lack of general knowledge in american society (and of course others) versus "only" specialization.
In Europe generally private schools have more money at their disposal - and their students are often better educated in a general way. So this kind of education here it is amongst others a matter of money. Furthermore it will also be a matter of the "philosphy" of an institution - a private school has actively to attract their "clients" - e.g. with the promises of a better education. Here a person with a broad general knowledge (besides his specialization) has a rather high reputation. People register and judge these acquirements.
But only few people here are educated in private schools. And even many people from public schools succeed very well in acquiring a good general knowledge, at least if they are taught there the "principles of thinking" ;-)
Certainly the roots for the lack of general knowledge are multifarious.
Every society has its values. Probably the "dumb" but successfull specialist has often a high reputation. He has money, he has (similar) friends, he has lots of distractions... So he won't feel the need to seriously "look over the fence".
Probably "other things" make feel him scary, because he is not used to handle them and because he has the fear they could tear him away from his successfull specialization -and confuse him.
In a very "money-success-orientated" society there won't be too much motivation to care about the basics, the general knowledge, to try to understand this world in general.
So it's a matter of every persons own demands and needs, a matter of the values of a society and a matter of the education given to the students from the beginning (by families and the education-system) -that helps them to develop their needs and abilities for knowing and understanding "the world".
The lack of general knowledge for me is a very important point for every society. I am sure that there are societies on this planet where there is a certain intention to keep at least some parts of society (poor, female...)uneducated. The less educated people are, the easier it will be to lead them where somebody wants them to. They have less possiblity to judge the quality of the given way by themselves. This can easily lead to fanatism, to intolerance, to wars...
Once again I want to pose the question: what can be done to influence this deficiency in a positive way?
I'm not sure that there is a solution available, or that I would have the knowledge and expertise to identify it if I saw it.
In any case your blogs ("Jamie's Blog" and "The Online Rant") are a very nice example for a open-minded spirit and a curious person that is interested in the world as a whole.
People can read it, partizipate and "learn" how variegated the world is and what themes they can deal with.
So I hope and wish that many people "find" your blogs and integrate such kind of thinking in their lives.
Probably this are some of the things a single person can do.
To change the education system or the society as a whole can hardly be done by single persons.
Seeing, describing and analyzing the problem is one - seeking for solutions (and finding them) is what I (would) like :-)
I agree with Bill (3rd comment on this side) that a good education is a privilege and "with such privilege comes responsibility".
Society made it possible to get the education (even if you paid for it - the knowledge is not "made" by the teachers).
And your ability to understand and think (and discuss ;-) is not "made" by yourself, it should not be seen as a matter of course. You got it as a very valuable gift - a gift you should share.
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