2008 Woodie Awards
A fundamental flaw of education would be fixed
Michael Tate
Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
In the days to come, everyone will accept my
sovereignty as a way of life, but, until that happens in my kingdom, I shall find it necessary to make laws that will change how people treat one another. I must create other laws to help people believe in my abilities and to trust me deeply… ha! What hogwash!
The truth, gentlemen and ladies, is not that I will need to change people's proverbial hearts on issues of trouble, nor is it to change their behavior in all aspects of their life, nor is it that I shall find cause to change the way that people think. "Why?" you ask. Well, here's my reasoning: changing the way that people think only works as long as people are still attempting to think (and it is impossible to think all the time), and though the way that we think often controls what we do, it is not reliable because fear often leads us to do things about which we weren't even thinking and later feel ashamed to have done. Changing how people act modifies thought patterns through the build-up of habits, but people can always develop new habits and practices that counter-act the old, and so, after time, the way that they think will change again. Rather, what needs to be changed is the way in which we communicate. Communication skills ought to be taught at the most basic levels of grade school. People often say that one never forgets how to ride a bike. Well, in the same way, children need to be taught to use good communication skills before they become afraid of the power of these skills.
In speaking of children, everyone thinks that humans are born with communication skills. This is not true. We possess potential when we are born, but we do not possess skills. When children are little, they learn to form sounds, and then they learn what those sounds mean. These processes are fairly natural, but what is not natural, and what needs to be taught to children, is how to use these concepts. Schools seem to focus so much on the rudiments of learning new words and understanding their meanings that they don't focus enough on how best to use these new tools. This is like putting a child in an automotive garage with a bunch of car parts to a certain model of car strewn about the floor and telling the child that the child can drive the car when it figures out how to complete it. Sure, it might be able to figure out how after a certain amount of time, but it would be much easier for the child to learn how to fix the car if someone taught it how to do so.
When I am a monarch, such scenarios of confusion and inefficacy will most definitely be avoided, as communication skills will be taught in school.
sovereignty as a way of life, but, until that happens in my kingdom, I shall find it necessary to make laws that will change how people treat one another. I must create other laws to help people believe in my abilities and to trust me deeply… ha! What hogwash!
The truth, gentlemen and ladies, is not that I will need to change people's proverbial hearts on issues of trouble, nor is it to change their behavior in all aspects of their life, nor is it that I shall find cause to change the way that people think. "Why?" you ask. Well, here's my reasoning: changing the way that people think only works as long as people are still attempting to think (and it is impossible to think all the time), and though the way that we think often controls what we do, it is not reliable because fear often leads us to do things about which we weren't even thinking and later feel ashamed to have done. Changing how people act modifies thought patterns through the build-up of habits, but people can always develop new habits and practices that counter-act the old, and so, after time, the way that they think will change again. Rather, what needs to be changed is the way in which we communicate. Communication skills ought to be taught at the most basic levels of grade school. People often say that one never forgets how to ride a bike. Well, in the same way, children need to be taught to use good communication skills before they become afraid of the power of these skills.
In speaking of children, everyone thinks that humans are born with communication skills. This is not true. We possess potential when we are born, but we do not possess skills. When children are little, they learn to form sounds, and then they learn what those sounds mean. These processes are fairly natural, but what is not natural, and what needs to be taught to children, is how to use these concepts. Schools seem to focus so much on the rudiments of learning new words and understanding their meanings that they don't focus enough on how best to use these new tools. This is like putting a child in an automotive garage with a bunch of car parts to a certain model of car strewn about the floor and telling the child that the child can drive the car when it figures out how to complete it. Sure, it might be able to figure out how after a certain amount of time, but it would be much easier for the child to learn how to fix the car if someone taught it how to do so.
When I am a monarch, such scenarios of confusion and inefficacy will most definitely be avoided, as communication skills will be taught in school.
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