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.
In recent years, I have read numerous articles online about what we now know about learning styles now that the flawed idea of learning through sight and sound has been disproven. Actually, disproven might be the wrong word since I noticed problems with the evidence, but I agree that learning through sight and sound is wrong.
One of the most shocking arguments I have seen is in explaining how teachers made this mistake. I have seen arguments that the reason teachers embraced these learning styles is because students all like to think that they are unique. If you have read some of the other posts I have made about learning styles, you already know that I outright reject such an absurd defense of teachers screwing up.
The most obvious flaw in this argument is that the students were never the people who pushed for the idea of learning through sight and sound. These learning styles were pushed by the teachers.
Another big problem is the idea that a binary perspective on how children learns is somehow interpreted as everyone being unique. Although teachers have embraced variants of these learning styles, the heart of the concept has been just two labels that teachers try to apply to absolutely everyone.
Meeting the needs of unique students would require teachers to embrace an infinite number of learning styles. Instead, teachers have focused on just two. Two happens to be the minimum learning styles required to claim that you are meeting variable needs. Teachers embraced the idea of learning through sight and sound because they are hostile to individualism. They can't get away with saying that they are meeting the needs of different students if they don't embrace some form of variability. They take the minimum number of differences so they can claim to meet variable needs without having to understand how each student is unique.
Oddly enough, many teachers are spinning the evidence against anti-individualistic views of learning styles. Proof against anti-individualistic learning styles somehow disproves learning styles. Evidence against a mistake made because teachers hate individualism somehow backs their hatred of individualism.
The concept of learning through sight and sound was rooted in the anti-individualistic tendencies of the teaching profession. We never would have made this mistake if we accepted that all students are unique. We wouldn't have diminished everyone to the point of being one of two people. Instead, anti-individualists are blaming individualists for their own mistakes. This has emboldened anti-individualists to push their failed beliefs even harder.
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