I think one of the major problems with education today is the assumption that you have a certain amount you need to know and that is it.
'A little knowledge is a dangerous thing'. I don't know who said that first, (neither does the internet) but I have it rather ingrained in my head. I have always understood the meaning as two fold. Both that ignorance will work to the advantage of a government, and that knowing just a little is often worse than nothing.
Science is a big example of 'the more I learn the less I know'. Seems science is always changing their minds. This trend is very evident when you look at health reports.
Should we avoid the sunshine or get more of it? Should we eat more grains or avoid them? Cholesterol bad or good?
Part of the trouble is the 'little bit of information'. We hear a snippet 'cholesterol causes heart disease'. (which isn't true) And we start banning all products with cholesterol. Perfectly good eggs and butter get tossed out with the 'bathwater'.
Science should be concerned with the truth and nothing else. A test should be performed to 'test' a hypothesis, not prove it. Instead we have 'scientists' throwing out data to get results they were paid for. If media reports are accurate Scientists are no longer rational individuals with a desire to learn, but instead we have 'reports' using faulty inconclusive date, as if saying the right words is enough to 'prove' ones point of view. Historians aren't much better.
Anyway, all this is just to say. I know very little. I have barely scratched the surface of all there is to know in the world. If I pass on nothing else to my children, I hope to pass on how little they know.
As for me, don't ask me anything, I only know I know nothing.
You know, there's always a new way to do something every year. My mom taught reading for years, and the time they all spent off track looking down their noses at phonics was so sad. Now they are back to phonics, and it's like they think it is something new.
ReplyDeleteMy practice with many things is moderation. If it's not clearly bad, then maybe moderate use is fine. Many things, if you go overboard, are bad for you. Generations of folks worked in the sunshine daily with no ill effects...but they wore hats and covered their arms. They did NOT go to tanning beds in nothing but a string bikini five times a week, or slather oil on their bodies and lay in the noon sun for hours on end. Crazy, but folks do it.
You make a good point about the scientists. You must be cautious when reading a scientific study, and see who funded it and where their premise is coming from. I think we all have to have the wisdom to look at what is out there, weigh the evidence and our common sense, and decide for ourselves (if it is not something that is clearly bad) if the findings seem right for us. Like, to vaccinate or not to vaccinate? To homeschool or not to homeschool? To eat chocolate or not eat chocolate? (Okay, that one is silly...it's a BIG YES!!!!!!)
We may still wind up with a problem here and there, but probably fewer problems than the person who jumps on every new diet/health/etc. bandwagon that drives through town, if you know what I mean.
I enjoyed your thought provoking post. I hope you don't mind my sharing my own opinion back!!
Blessings,
Heather@BlessingsPourOut
So funny, I was just thinking that thought the other day that really, the more I learn, the less I know (that I know). Homeschooling is the world's greatest learning adventure - or at least the best one that I have ever found!
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