Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.
I used to be a good student. I now refer to that time in my life as my stupid years. Although I was good at thinking what my teachers wanted me to think, I was lousy at thinking for myself.
Seeing my problem, I decided to correct it. I started thinking for myself. As a consequence, I became more reluctant to think what I was supposed to think, and my grades plummeted.
Do schools teach children what to think or how to think? Based on my experiences, I would definitely say they teach us what to think. In recent years, teachers have countered this view by insisting that teachers teach children how to think rather than what to think. What do they have to counter first-hand experiences? Because they said so.
When I was in school, teachers actively used emotional abuse as a motivational tool. They would push the idea that if we didn't allow them to control our childhoods, it would destroy our future. This resulted in a culture of fear where students were genuinely afraid of thinking what was considered by their teachers to be wrong. This fear of thought actually diminished mental process. The systematic destruction of the minds of American youth is precisely why I started referring to the schooling process as mental genocide.
We are living in the most heavily schooled era in the history of humanity. We are also living in what has to be the most mindless era in the history of humanity. There is plenty of reason to believe our schools are at the heart of this problem.
What about college? Personally, I'm not impressed. Most college graduates I have met are cocky about everything they know but are completely incapable of forming their own thoughts. Mindlessly regurgitating facts points to college graduates learning what to think.
There's also an issue with mental diversity. People who know how to think for themselves will form their own beliefs, thoughts, and opinions. This leads to divergence in viewpoints. Colleges have actually boasted about the exact opposite, convergence of views that tend to match those of their colleges. The lack of mental diversity coming out of colleges should be deeply concerning.
I should probably point out that teachers haven't always been consistent with this narrative. Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, coauthored an article at a liberal propaganda website, Salon, where she inadvertently pointed to the truth. She criticized Republicans for wanting politicians to control what children read, hear, and think rather than so-called educators. In order for this to make sense, you have to view it as a fight over who controls what students think, not a desire to focus instead on how to think.
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