Aristotle said that “All men by nature desire to know.” It is evident to anyone watching children play that they are busily exploring their environment. They do not always have to have a teacher guiding what they learn by exposing them to only those things that the teacher believes they should learn, those things that the teacher is interested in. Or, for their learning to be limited to textbooks that are approved by the local district or the state.
The very most important learning for each individual will be that which is learned independent of the formal lockstep system of society. The learning that will be most permanent and enjoyable will be that learning that takes place as a result of the individual’s own interests and curiosity. Kahlil Gibran said that, “Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge.” I believe perplexity and curiosity in this meaning are synonymous. What they say about ‘leading a horse to water but you can’t make them drink’ is true as well with young students. That is not to say that the formal and designed plan for learning is not important but the fact remains that the ‘curious attraction’ will always be learned more completely and effectively. There is an old Cherokee saying that; “Everything in life comes to you through a teacher. Pay attention, learn quickly.” The only way that I would accept that saying as true is if the term teacher is broadened to include the inanimate teachers as well as the animate ones. For example the training one receives through the ‘school of hard knocks.’ The training or learning that takes place as a result of experiences that may or may not be planned. A wise teacher will lead the student, to the edge of his interest, and there leave him to explore and to wander around, to drink in that which he can until full.
I have always been impressed by the thought that a human learns through a series of senses; sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste, yet formal education usually only includes sight and hearing, mostly hearing. Most experts in the education field would probably agree that the greater number of senses involved in the learning process would probably produce the most effective learning experience.
Driving a car, for example requires all of our senses to experience the safest travel. If a driver’s training course only provided a classroom experience for certification, very poor drivers would be the end product. Driver education classes of today, always include hands-on experience behind the wheel of an actual car. The classroom instruction comes first, however, so that the student learns the fundamental knowledge or basics of the vehicle, they will be driving as well as the laws of the road. For example, a student driver who failed some basics about a car may plan to pass another car and assuming the “P” on the transmission console was the passing gear, might shove the gear in ‘park’ which would ruin the transmission.
When I was a young man it was very common for young men living in our farming community, to drop out of high school to work their family farm. I believe the statistic was something like only 72% of those young men graduated from high school. Girls graduation rate was much higher in that community. Yet these young farmers were by no means ignorant when it came to the business of farming. Many of them eventually took over the farms and were astute businessmen when it came to calculating profit and loss in respect to grain production or cattle sales. They were especially well trained when it came to operating the heavy equipment such as farm tractors and harvesting equipment. They learn how to maintain and repair their own equipment.
The most amazing thing about training and education, to me, is the fact that we all learn a little differently and we all have different interests. The best teachers in the world are bound to fail with students who have absolutely no interest in their subject. Conversely, the worst teachers in the world are going to be a huge success when teaching a subject that the students all have a high interest in.
The other master teacher is ‘Necessity.’ I remember watching a show entitled, as I recall, “Man in the Wilderness.” By design, the man was left somehow in the wilds, with very little clothing and no tools or weapons to protect himself from wild beasts or the elements. It was amazing to watch how he learned to use his skills to survive. He essentially became animal like, having to sharpen his senses, to listen and watch for danger and/or opportunities to find food and water. It demonstrated how he discovered a hard rock that could be used as a flint to strike against another hard object to start a fire in some dry grass, etc.
I couldn’t help comparing ‘The man in the wilderness” and his experience, with my youngest son who is now in his forties. He is a boy scout master in his community in New York City. He demonstrated, for his dad, all of the survival equipment he has accumulated to assure he and his scout’s safety as they participate in their scheduled camping trips. Camping trips that are required for the scouts to advance in rank. I was amazed at all the survival equipment he has accumulated to assure that there will be warmth, safety while hiking, climbing and even water safety equipment. His responsibility is to give them outdoor experiences without placing them in danger. His equipment will assure that they will have sufficient first aid supplies, in case one gets hurt. The scouts learn how to make fires safely and how not to get lost. I was amazed.
I am also impressed with the electronic gadgets so easily accessible to most everyone in our society. Everywhere you look you see the very young and the very old with their heads down studying a small screen in their hands. The gadget represents the most unique learning tool ever devised. With access to the Internet they can query almost any subject by typing or saying a topic and within seconds they will have an answer to their query. What an amazing world we live in, a world of learning without teachers. If one were so inclined. I can envision a time when a person will be able to complete an advanced degree by simply querying his digital phone. The teachers then become the technicians developing the programs that are accessed through the Internet by these little phones or tablets. Instead of teachers who are nicely dressed standing before their class, they are working from home in blue genes and t-shirts. What an interesting and wonderful world we live in. Even so there will always be teachers and there will always be learners. The following statement says it all; “Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.”—B. F. Skinner