There have been stories out there for a while about learning being almost obsolete. I just came across this new one today. Basically it says that its really unnecessary and pointless for children to learn facts, figures, history, etc. With the internet at everyone's fingertips and a communal knowledge of everything in the world available, what's the point?
I have mixed feelings about this. While I think that some topics in school were boring to me personally, I still probably bettered myself by learning them. I wonder how the next generation of children will be able to hold intelligent conversations if they are not learning the same things we were expected to learn. I know for sure that the internet has made me smarter and dumber at the same time. For example, firefox's automatic spell check has made me incredibly lazy. Sometimes I don't even try very hard to spell correctly.
Education might just have to take a slightly new path...any thoughts?
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I don't agree with this line of thinking, especially as it relates to history. Granted, we all have the information available to us, but we first would have to actively look it up. By forcing the knowledge of dates, etc. I think it allows us to give our children historical context (i.e. a chronoligical history rather than looking things up haphazardly). Plus, I'm no expert, but I think basic memorization serves a purpose. Think about times tables (we probably shouldn't learn math because we all have calculators or computers) or the alphabet or any other thing we take for granted that we once memorized. Taken to the extreme, this theory would mean we shouldn't teach anyone much of anything because it can be looked up.
The basic flaw of this commentators approach is the either or scenario. This occurs too often in many area of discussion. This debate is not a new one it just comprises a new wrinkle. We have long struggled to determine what is the best method of education.
Our approach to education should not be pure rote memorization or pure creative thinking. To fully maximize a childs ability to become a truly productive member of society the argument is best phrased in a manner that considers to what extent do these and other components of eductaion interact with each other.
Learning facts in many areas of study will provide the foundation for the necessary creative thinking that must accompany the education. In addition it can probably be argued that memorization is a positive mental exercise for the brain to engage in.
That being said know all the facts in the world does one little good without the ability to synthesize this information in a manner that is constructive to a particular challenge at hand.
When I think of my college education I shudder to think of the massive amounts of information that I've forgotten. If I took a test in any of my classes I would pretty much fail every one of them. The benefit of college is that it helps people learn how to solve problems, think about things in a different way and hopefully apply some of that into everyday life. There's still a role for some memorization- some of that stuff has to stick.
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