In college my intellectual history requirements were taught by a professor named Marvin. On the first day of class Marvin told us that all thought was a violent act. Ideas, information, and learned behavior all represented acts of violence within the brain. Individuals, he believed, carved knowledge into their brain and that without these inscriptions they had difficulty holding on to or repeating that knowledge. Thus, thinking and learning required violence.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This article is not advocating physical violence. The question of if/when physical violence is necessary is one for another day (and preferably offline).
Now we know that this isn’t exactly true. Learning and the development of skills reflects the wrapping of neural circuitry with myelin (check out The Talent Code for extended discussion). However, I don’t think Marvin was too far off. There’s something to the idea. If nothing else, thinking represents a habit and all habits are ingrained behavior.
Thinking may not require violence per se, but it does require some physicality. Students who use pen and pencil to write down notes retain more than those who type up their research or lecture notes. Reading comprehension increases when a text is actually read instead of being consumed on a device. I catch a lot of grief for it, but I require students to hand write all of their notes during the research process. I also provide books for all in class readings. Again not violent, but you’ve got to earn it to learn it.
Most educational experiences lack physicality. By that I mean that, by and large, most schools do not teach students to think. Instead, teachers spend most of their time telling students what the right answer is and how to spew answers on tests. Students really just have to go through the motions of learning. Much like TSA is the performance of security at the airport, schools perform elaborate educational theater.
Now the country reckons with parents and students who never learned how to think, to critically analyze ideas, and make decisions for themselves. The results of this can be found in various workplaces and political spheres around the country. In many fields, employers struggle to find people who can examine information, problem solve and adapt to dynamic situations. Politicians and their respective disciples whine about indoctrination in schools (usually right before they suggest their own indoctrination program). Now, I don’t know that the purpose of learning is solely to get a good job, but school should prepare you to succeed outside of school. And to those people who clamor about indoctrination and can’t move beyond a headline, I say, “Lighten up Francis.”
A teacher helps a student learn to think. We support and facilitate the development of an array of skills across the grades. Teachers help students find information, deconstruct facts or evidence, and reconstruct those ideas in a variety of situations. My job is not to teach your student what to think. My job is to teach your kid to think for themself.
I used to give bonus points to students who disagreed with me. The only catch was that they had to support their claims with facts and you could calmly discuss the issue. In my classes you can hold whatever perspective you want under two conditions - that you have evidence to support your position and the understanding that your opinion might be wrong. Students (like adults) should have evidence and be able to provide a reasonable explanation of their claims. When this happens, we can then use class time to hold all perspectives up to a bright light and pull apart various ideas. In the end we don’t have to agree. However, the act of wrestling with ideas makes all of us stronger thinkers.
The other junior high in Westfield had engraved above the main doors the words, I think, therefore I am. Descartes’ words seemed to me an odd choice for that school considering my friends who went there. However, Descartes had the right idea. Our students can change the world. However, if they never learn to think, they will become nameless cogs in the machine. Going through the motions is fine at the gym, but it has no place in education. For too long too many schools have ascribed to convenience and comfort in education. As a result, students can pass tests but can’t think.
This does not bode well for the future. Thinking requires some physical labor and too often we let people off the hook or punish those who do ask questions. If thinking represents a violent act, then maybe violence is the answer.