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Learn How to Think Instead of What to Think

This post is actually a slightly adjusted version of a comment to this thought-provoking commentary. I thought it was a compartmentalized thought enough that I wanted to post it here for my own record.

The prompt, from Ashley’s essay, is:

“We’re taught what to think, not how to think”.

Therein lies a problem. The education model being experienced today (K-12 & much of higher ed) has been built on top an old process designed to produce two things: workers, and more academics.

If we’re willing to put aside the “more academics” part and focus on the “workers” part of the product of education, we need to consider what’s changed. Through at least one lens, changes exist in workplace and the expectations it has.

Rather than go down the road of “I paid six figures for a college education and now I can’t get a job, EFF YOU America” that many young professionals are doing right now, there’s a huge, huge, HUGE missed opportunity to improve the educational system using mentorship, and refocusing on learning skills instead of just the learning of skills.

When the industries with the highest demand were focused primarily on manufacturing, someone who came out of school not only had basic skills, but had the proficiency to learn some more basic skills in order to accomplish a task. Manufacturing and the industrial workplace provided a very specific, guided ladder to continue learning skills, leading to promotions, opportunities, better pay, hours, so on and so forth.

Times be-a changing.

Now, with another industrial shift fully swinging away from manufacturing (sorry Detroit) and towards knowledge work, the ability to just learn new tasks isn’t enough.

You’re expected to synthesize new, unmarked tasks.

You’re expected to create, not just produce.

If you can’t create, you’re going to have to try a LOT harder to get a great job. And that thesis ignores the increased likelihood that you’ll work for yourself, start a company, be a great leader of your industry or workforce. Maybe more.

And speaking of great leadership, mentorship seems to have been lost almost everywhere with the exception of artisans, and craftsmen (craftspeople, for the gender sensitive). And even there, art schools are stacking students high with skills, and until the last minute, very little REAL WORLD practicum.

Take a look at this video from IgnitePhilly I, where University of the Arts’ President Sean Buffington eloquently explains how as a university administrator he KNOWS that things are fucked up, and even how, but doesn’t know to go about making steps in any new direction.

From IgnitePhilly2 (4 months later), Chris Lehmann of the Science Leadership Acadamy talks about how schools need to stop being run like businesses, find new metrics for success, and a general lack of responsibility and accountability in the system despite the quality of the educators. Science Leadership Acadamy is an empowerment-based educational system, experimentally created in partnership with The Franklin Institute. One of my favorite points he makes is: you can’t learn when you feel the subject is more important than you are.

“What happens when school is real life, and not just preparation for real life”.


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14
Feb 2010
AUTHOR Alex Hillman
CATEGORY

philadelphia

COMMENTS 10 Comments
TAGS

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  • David Kaplan

    Hey Alex,

    Thank you for writing this post. About three weeks ago, I posted something similar on my Facebook and it stoked a rather lengthy debate.

    Most of my friends and colleagues are aware of my distaste for formal academia. I hold no academic degrees. I do so by choice.

    At all levels of schooling, the prevalence of drugs, excessive drinking, and violence are a known problem. What's less considered is the social implications of our structured, age-segregated, prison-like K-12 environment. Then, also less considered, is the liberal bias at the college and university levels.

    Additionally, while I give props to schools like Harvard that institute programs for the financially disadvantaged and offer programs like Open Course Ware, there is still a long way to go in eliminating financial incentives (grants, intellectual property rights, charging for access to academic papers and journals) for intellectual “property”.

    Tenure is a joke and often places complete nut-cases in positions of authority with little hope of removing them should their craziness manifest itself later in life. Additionally, tenure is unabashedly promoted as motivated by “politics and personalities”.

    I agree with you that mentoring has lost its place as a viable teaching/learning relationship. I touched on this in my FB post. It's a great pity. I'm certain that our collective self-esteem would be greatly heightened if everyone from CEOs (with their obvious talents like management, leadership, etc) to garbage men (with their less-obvious knowledge of recycling, sustainability, environmental protection) would benefit from taking a young person under their wings. There isn't a shred of doubt in my mind as to the positive implications of putting the raising of our children back in the hands of “the village”.

    I advocate a somewhat radical solution. It boils down to making all academic knowledge free, crowd-sourcing (eek, buzzword) larger projects using sustainable, publicly available research facilities, and making teachers and professors into consultants and proctors for parents and mentors. I call it “academic zeitgeist” based partly on Jacque Fresco's and The Venus Project's movement.

    While I don't entirely agree with that movement (specifically regarding religion), I'm certain that the movement's ideas would apply perfectly to academia.

    Time will tell.

    Be well.

    David Kaplan

  • David Kaplan

    Hey Alex,

    Thank you for writing this post. About three weeks ago, I posted something similar on my Facebook and it stoked a rather lengthy debate.

    Most of my friends and colleagues are aware of my distaste for formal academia. I hold no academic degrees. I do so by choice.

    At all levels of schooling, the prevalence of drugs, excessive drinking, and violence are a known problem. What's less considered is the social implications of our structured, age-segregated, prison-like K-12 environment. Then, also less considered, is the liberal bias at the college and university levels.

    Additionally, while I give props to schools like Harvard that institute programs for the financially disadvantaged and offer programs like Open Course Ware, there is still a long way to go in eliminating financial incentives (grants, intellectual property rights, charging for access to academic papers and journals) for intellectual “property”.

    Tenure is a joke and often places complete nut-cases in positions of authority with little hope of removing them should their craziness manifest itself later in life. Additionally, tenure is unabashedly promoted as motivated by “politics and personalities”.

    I agree with you that mentoring has lost its place as a viable teaching/learning relationship. I touched on this in my FB post. It's a great pity. I'm certain that our collective self-esteem would be greatly heightened if everyone from CEOs (with their obvious talents like management, leadership, etc) to garbage men (with their less-obvious knowledge of recycling, sustainability, environmental protection) would benefit from taking a young person under their wings. There isn't a shred of doubt in my mind as to the positive implications of putting the raising of our children back in the hands of “the village”.

    I advocate a somewhat radical solution. It boils down to making all academic knowledge free, crowd-sourcing (eek, buzzword) larger projects using sustainable, publicly available research facilities, and making teachers and professors into consultants and proctors for parents and mentors. I call it “academic zeitgeist” based partly on Jacque Fresco's and The Venus Project's movement.

    While I don't entirely agree with that movement (specifically regarding religion), I'm certain that the movement's ideas would apply perfectly to academia.

    Time will tell.

    Be well.

    David Kaplan

  • http://www.blakejennelle.com Blake Jennelle

    There's a third way for schools: not what to think and not how to think, but instead, how to take action — thoughtfully.

    Harvard's been trumpting (and practicing) the “teaching how to think” approach since instituting the Core Curriculum in the 60s or 70s. It's not especially effective at cultivating the kind of thinkers you have in mind. Instead it's great at cultivating investment bankers, consultants, law students, med students and perpetual grad students. Because they know how to think and solve tough, new problems — as long as someone else tells them what problems to solve.

  • http://www.blakejennelle.com Blake Jennelle

    There's a third way for schools: not what to think and not how to think, but instead, how to take action — thoughtfully.

    Harvard's been trumpting (and practicing) the “teaching how to think” approach since instituting the Core Curriculum in the 60s or 70s. It's not especially effective at cultivating the kind of thinkers you have in mind. Instead it's great at cultivating investment bankers, consultants, law students, med students and perpetual grad students. Because they know how to think and solve tough, new problems — as long as someone else tells them what problems to solve.

  • Socrates
  • Socrates
  • http://www.straightalk.biz/designs straightalk

    Very nice article and well written too.. loved it so much I spread the word.. thanks

    Norman Flecha
    straight Talk

  • http://www.straightalk.biz/designs straightalk

    Very nice article and well written too.. loved it so much I spread the word.. thanks

    Norman Flecha
    straight Talk

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Troy/741590524 David Troy

    I wrote a post touching on these topics today: http://bit.ly/clJril (How Education is Ruining Your Life)

    I agree with Blake; there needs to be a new third way that involves taking action.

    My wife Jennifer is returning to school now (JHU Carey Business school after many years away and not having completed a bachelor's degree) and has been recently told that they will teach her “how to think, not what to think” and has actually been quite offended at the suggestion.

    Her argument is, “I've already been spending the last 20 years of my life learning how to think; how do you think I got to where I am, assholes?” and I am sympathetic. So, I think there is likely some even higher goal than “teaching you how to think” which may be something along the lines of Effectuation theory (http://bit.ly/dBQtnd). “Don't teach me what to think, don't teach me how to think, teach me how to be maximally effective.” Or something.

    Either way I think we all know it's broken. Good to see strong effectual minds working on the challenge.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Troy/741590524 David Troy

    I wrote a post touching on these topics today: http://bit.ly/clJril (How Education is Ruining Your Life)

    I agree with Blake; there needs to be a new third way that involves taking action.

    My wife Jennifer is returning to school now (JHU Carey Business school after many years away and not having completed a bachelor's degree) and has been recently told that they will teach her “how to think, not what to think” and has actually been quite offended at the suggestion.

    Her argument is, “I've already been spending the last 20 years of my life learning how to think; how do you think I got to where I am, assholes?” and I am sympathetic. So, I think there is likely some even higher goal than “teaching you how to think” which may be something along the lines of Effectuation theory (http://bit.ly/dBQtnd). “Don't teach me what to think, don't teach me how to think, teach me how to be maximally effective.” Or something.

    Either way I think we all know it's broken. Good to see strong effectual minds working on the challenge.