Are Teachers Cheaters?

"None but geometers may enter"

This was written boldly atop the entrance to Plato's Academy in Athens. I'll tell you the significance of this in a while.

Many people think Science is a tall order for them, in fact, insurmountable. Their notions may be due to teacher's incompetence. Science isn't difficult (okay parts like Modern Physics may be too abstract) and do Science on a daily basis. A child who wants to learn how the lightbulb turns on can go like this:

Observation - after the light switch is flicked or pressed, the light turns on.
Hypothesis - the switch is responsible for the light turning on.
So he watches successive flicks or presses and with the gathering evidence, concludes that his hypothesis was valid, at which point it turns into a theory and a standard then. Look at your life and see how many times you do this, the underlying concept. You most assuredly do this, this is how Science is, basically. If only it was treated as such and not deified like it is in schools.

Now, the quote; I mentioned it because education in general may be simplified if we incorporate the use of learning styles. There are three recognized learning styles (there are others which I think are valid but aren't well-accepted in scholarly environment), visuospatial, verbal and kinesthetic. I am a visuospatial thinker and learner primarily and a verbal one closely secondarily. That then, fits me into Plato's bracket of geometers. When I was taught addition, it didn't make sense to me until Abacus was brought for me to visualize the adding process. A number meant squat to me. To date, a deluge of numbers annoys me, I hated the binomial theorem in Secondary School and still do. However, I loved the probability theory which had to do with manipulations that really didn't need numbers. The binomial theorem is translatable to spatial terms but can you do that in school? The fact that there's even a 'formula' is annoying. If you connect my mind to a PC and observe how I think, you would see dots, lines and all sorts of plane and 3D figures. Alas! I am a geometer!

In our classroom environments, we alienate different learning styles, different thoughts or ideas (nice that the blog is subtitled 'freethinking', innit?) and make students less capable than they are. Such alienation dampens confidence, reduces esteem, and by such reduction in belief, the student denigrates himself so that he cannot engage his normal processes (e.g. learning style) and do well as he is wired. Or, he denigrates himself and himself comes to believe that "he is no good" so that he becomes a bad student. This mode of operation of class affects too many of our students and makes us wonder how many geniuses are truck-pushers, mates and so forth, just because of an unaccommodating atmosphere. After all, it is just "what has worked" for us that becomes the standard. It doesn't make the different thought wrong, it doesn't.

If learning styles are more engaged, I believe our education would improve, and so would Scientific education. Scientific education would also improve if we just had more patient and humble teachers who would take their time to explain to students, to not think the students dumb and to make them know of the derivations to quell their misunderstandings. There is a particular line of thought that led to any given bit of information and it doesn't make any deviating thought wrong, it is what it is: deviant.

Memory Overrated, then Underrated

"Why bother committing to memory what can be looked up in 2 seconds" ~ Einstein

Well, that's the way I remember it but as I have forgotten where I read it, this is what I got right now as I searched:

"Never memorize something you can look up"

The words, the one way or the other, of the rascal, Albert Einstein. I must say I have always been an ardent believer in this. Even as a young boy in lower primary school, I detested and somehow looked with trepidation at my father's request of me to recount what the story of a novel I read was or was about. I tended to sum up works in nutshells a la Aesop's Fables (my all-time favorite book) and also tended to take my own thing from works i.e. what was actually not presented in the material.

Before I came into contact with these words by Einstein, I said these words similarly over and over again at various places viz. "why should I remember this when it's in the book" and then I'd scoff.

I have come to find that, through self-reflection and research in biographies and psychology texts, that such an attitude is one of the artist/inventor. They have no business memorizing anything, only discovering and constantly extending the bounds of the 'discovered'.

Recently, I read an article where one of the Google heads spoke about the internet dumbing us down since we could look up anything at the click of a button. That article was referring to the lack of, and bemoaning this lack, deep thinking involved in learning today. I am always one to 'deep think' so it doesn't refer to me. But, I will take my own spin on it and put it in my own context: that of memory.

I tend to keep my memory in my pocket. As a young boy, I'd argue well but because I'd forgotten my references, I couldn't prove my words when they weren't just clever guesses; you've had glimpses here, unintentional too. Nowadays, Hallelujah!!! The Internet allows me to just "put ya keywords in here" and shazam!!! that's my reference right there, my case is buttressed, busta, ha!!! I had been feeling guilty about my failing memory because of this, was even scared I'd one day forget my own name like Einstein did (allegedly) before the metioned article came along, so I decided to put in an experiment, a psychological experiment, and see. Well, well, well, the results have been telling as I expected (I didn't want to change though cos having 'flights of ideas' is so fantastic an experience) and my concentration has improved, my comprehension has improved, my patience in general has improved, my irritability too has reduced. These are the preliminary results as the experiment is on-going (I know you want to know the details of the experiment, I'll tell ya later), hit you back on it later.

This article is just a criticism of the position mentioned at the beginning and a minor exposition on 'Learning' and 'Memory' in Psychology. The position, though, can be seen more benignly as when not carried to extreme extents, it serves well for the wandering mind, the creative mind. There is a goodly amount of truth in that statement and all its variations.

Hope you enjoyed the article, my friend.

Instead of...

Instead of what Science should be, I will speak of what Science shouldn't be:

1. It should not be thought of as static. New discoveries lead to new info which lead to new theories, sometimes at the expense of the old. Science is very dynamic and though we need to learn what has been found so far, let's not turn it into what is always going to be found - a sad state in our schools.

2. Science cannot and should not be the starting point of every human endeavor. Nowadays, even art is becoming formulaic; the muse-inspired artist that Plato spoke of is a rarity. However, when one looks at it closely, one realizes that it was a similar situation in Plato's time which must have occasioned his thoughts on it and his effusive criticisms of the calculator artists.

Now, every little invention becomes standard practice, 'standard practice' - a scientific way of looking at the world. Art and Science always stand counterpoint to each other so I shouldn't be speaking about this as their eternal hostilities will just show what I seek to say, but it needs a human voice to back it up. That split between Art and Science is exemplified by the artist, William Blake, who criticized Science so vehemently; he however did not hate Science as he was too intelligent for that, he saw its use. Art is a liberator, Science is law. Science has to structure things, produce 'standards' lest our world falls. Art is just a happy toddler creating and forgetting what he has created leaving a mess behind him.

3. Science should not simply be theory, science is much valued for its practical use. Except for that, there will be nothing special about science and it would remain in the cot of Philosophy for all eternity. Science is what is empirically valid, we must find that in our schools and raise creative applicators, not only applicators; for an empirical method of learning already is in line with a practical style.

4. Learning, in general, in our schools is bogged down in minutiae. One thing that dismayed Einstein and led to him leaving school was a lack of creativity. Engage the students, let them think creatively about their approaches, sometimes it might not even match the 'standards' but it does not mean it is wrong, rather, the attitude to something like that should be "let's follow it and see where it goes".

5. There is also the issue of not investigating the fundaments of what we learn in our schools. We don't investigate the philosophical underpinnings of what is there, we should allow that. I remember once in my physics class that I asked a question and my teacher was stunned momentarily but came up with an apt answer, "I don't know but this one is useful so let's go on, we can find the other out later" at which we both smiled. This is an example of an encouraging teacher and a lover of learning. I was always depressed by the way school went, you couldn't question the assumptions made in developing a theory or something like that and you were made to just gobble it all up. It never was conducive to me, to me, I hadn't understood what I was supposed to have learned.

6. The fifth point leads to this: let's not get caught in the illusion that learning invariably has to be stepwise. One inane excuse they make is "that is an advanced level so let's not go there" when you ask a question that is supposed to take you to the higher levels. We are in school to learn, let us learn; you can't predict what my mind can do too so let's go and see. School almost ruined my love for learning; we must learn so let us learn.

Educational Policy: A way forward.

Vision
Inspire
Think
Notice
Practical Knowledge
Solve problems


Its dawn alright and I am starting out a new article.

Its 10th October 2011, and as I write this piece . Its been about 54years since a concise book was written on purposeful education for Africa.
Its been long road down here, and I wish to take up the subject again, because nothing has changed much since the last 54years.  In the previous years a professor of  Sociology Dr. K.A Busia wrote a wonderful book on what education should be. Most of the problems he saw and seeked change still exist today in most part of Africa. The purpose of this piece of writing is not to talk about how bad the education system is now or to analyze how come most of these problems exist.
I believe I am not the position to make such investigations. I am a SSS leaver and I have but experienced only  a third of the whole educational process in this country.
Someone might say then I dont have even a first hand experience of what the tertiary education is like to write an article to suggest a way forward. Well that will be very true. And I dont seek to contend with the fact.
Yet still, there is a saying that whatever is within is what reflects outward. On the grounds that I see what my friends and people in my community turn out when they graduate or even their attitude towards school, I believe there is still more to be done.

As I said earlier, I have no wish to talk about the issues in our educational system that plagues us all.This information is more or less redundant and stressing even makes it more so, because it doesn't help in anyway to change the current situation.

I wish to stress rather on a way forward. Mind you, my ideas may sound subjective at first. Probably because of the way I express myself and secondly because these ideas have no scientific backing. But I believe all the ideas I shall stipulate here are logical and when looked at carefully , is a feasible a way out. And secondly which idea at first is not subjective, all ideas are first subjective until affirmed and confirmed.

VISION:
It is a very simple fact that needs to be reckon with; you can't put up any structure without a blue print. You need a dream to achieve something, that sounded vague. A dream in sight is reality at bay.
We can say this in many different ways  but  truth is one, without a  target you are aimless.
It is very impotant that before this country can go forward it needs a dream, a dream of what life in this country should be like for the average person and what it takes to get there.
Aristotle puts it this way:The state comes in existence for the sake  of life; it exists for the sake of the "good life" and imparts it to its citizens".  
Vision is very important and the onus  falls on the opinion leaders of this country , to work with the people and find a way forward but its all talk in the air, to stress the point again, because little has been done so far with all the talk the professor did 54years ago.

In terms of   having the "good life" and imparting it to the people in what small way can we begin to turn things around?
The first block of socialization or education is the family. Considering this fact essential efforts could begin from there.
The family needs to have an idea of the good life is and what it takes to get there. When children are growing up parents are supposed to tell their children what they are capable of becoming and the efforts required to become that. Children need to be aware of the boundless opportunities that is open to them, and the need for them to experiment with ideas pertaining to the development of  first themselves and then their society. Children also need to understand that their efforts go a long way to help  the development of their country and that their role in this country is to leave a mark, a positive mark.

The young should be imparted with these ideas and the best place for them to start is their community. First by being introduced to volunteer works, and telling them the onus falls on them to find practical solutions to the problems they see in their community. The young will only know a situation is a problem if it conflicts with the true dream they believe in.
The community should be an organized entity where role models set a pace for the young . It should be an environment where children are guided , where  children are worked with to solve challenges. This is a sure grooming future leaders.

INSPIRE:
This word is a very essential part of human growth and development. What children end up becoming is because of what they are inspired by. Even at the point of death people are inspired to do the most never thought of  things.
Somewhere in all of us, lies great potentials and it always it takes some form inspiration to bring out the power that lies within. I could possibly write a whole book on inspiration and how it determines what we all become in the end... great people become great because of the sort inspiration they had and so do average men.

The role of parents is to inspire their children, the role of the community is to inspire its members, the role of the society is to inspire the people and this they can do with a dream.
The individual is the experience of the society, whereas, the society is the expression of the individual.

The teacher's role and the role of the school is to introduce the student to information and knowledge that will inspire the student to do greater things.

THINK.
Edward De Bono, invented the think tank, lateral thinking and many others, I cant possibly mention here.
He said something quite remarkarble; " the art of thinking should be introduced as a subject in schools"
Great men think and in a nation where there are thinkers, is a nation that thrives.

To be continued.............