It has been some time since my last blog entry here. I apologize for that. But, I’ve never been the type to speak when I have nothing of interest to say, or so I would have you believe.
Yesterday, my young grandson, Corbin, and I had an abbreviated conversation on the origin of the Egyptian pyramids. Many questions persist on the subject and, to me, a fascinating subject. He didn’t seem interested and asked, “Why do you care?”
“Because,” I said, “to question is a fascinating road to discovery, one of life’s joys and greatest responsibilities. Never stop questioning and never close your mind to possibilities.”
He didn’t actually yawn but the look was equivalent. “Why? Life is so much easier if you don’t.”
Okay, this was enough to spin my head around like Linda Blair in the “Exorcist”. What? I thought very, very loud—to the point of echoing between my ears.
After a moment, questions of my own began chasing one another and they all led back to our current educational system in this country. Has this obsession with passing tests to garner status and funding within schools created a generation of Pavlov’s Dogs?
What I mean by this is that, maybe, we’re not educating kids anymore. What if we’re simply training them to accomplish specific tasks, like passing those tests to raise schools’ rankings for better funding? If so, I can’t blame teachers or administrators for steering the kids that way. For heaven’s sake, their livelihoods are at stake. It’s the entire way the system is structured.
I’ve heard and read numerous articles about the flight from publicly funded education to private schools. Is it because of this lack of teaching our children to think? Are we, as a nation, training them only to react to chosen stimuli? I think maybe.
Look, for example, at our current state of government. There are no forward thinking decisions being made by either party, only reacting to crises as they occur. Our nation is in a holding pattern waiting for that bell to ring signaling some action needs to be taken. Even this seems to lend credibility to this Pavlov’s Dogs application.
We must never forget that cults and dictators flourish in such an environment.
Let’s make sure our kids go beyond just memorizing accepted answers according to textbooks. Question and discuss why the answer is considered correct. There’s always a chance the answer is totally incorrect or that better answers exist.
Sure, life is simpler if we don’t ask questions. And, those who want to control and manipulate our thinking already know this and would encourage us not to ask questions.
Maybe the origin of the pyramids has no relevance in today’s world. But, how would I know if I never ask the questions? Even in this case, a belief system has been handed to us and we are expected to accept it as fact, which it may be, but I choose to explore it and come to that conclusion on my own.
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I agree with you about the pyramids, and also many other ancient structures as well. I think that we, as an arrogant modern people, underestimate the technology possessed by the peoples of ancient times; who are considered to be more primitive and ignorant than we. Is it too wild to consider that they may have discovered technology that was lost and that we have yet to rediscover?
ReplyDeleteAs for our schools of today, I feel sorry for our children. They face bullying and teasing from other children. They face restrictions from those over them. And the shock stories emanating out of our schooling system of today are numerous. Many parents are opting to home school their children instead. And I don't blame them.
Our nation, yea our world, has somehow become dumbed down, in my opinion. And yes, we must push those around us to think, and wonder, and dream, and learn always. For therein lies the beauty of the creature we call man.
Well said, Jacqueline. Well said.
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