cm18

John Taylor Gatto

Basically, he came to the conclusion that the existing schooling model (the Prussian system of schooling) was designed to be obedience training . This Newsweek article is clearly propaganda.

DearClaudio

I forgot to tell you thank you for introducing John Taylor Gatto to me.

coincidencesmyass

Poor kids today, they are basically in prisons. Sadly I think people in actual prisons have a better chance of thinking for themselves than these kids in schools.

DearClaudio

I know it makes me look at everything I do in a new light. How are my kids supposed to not fall into the bullshit matrix that we all reside in. I am trying to just use Socratic method and whatnot to get them to think for themselves. I'm worried they will still fall for the bullshit three ring circus we run in together.

pitenius

FTFA:

Look, you can be the most original, iconoclastic thinker out there. You can have deeply contrarian opinions. And those may be impressive, on the surface. But if you really want to impress me and, more important, the engineering department at Google, go ahead and think your way through this: f(x)=(x^2-5)(x^3-2x+3) To take the derivative of that function —the way I am sure most serious 16-year-olds in Shanghai, Helsinki and Mumbai can— you will have to have spent dozens of hours doing work of the decidedly uncritical kind, learning trigonometric rules that have been around for centuries and will almost certainly outlast your earthly existence. This is true for any discipline, whether biology or Spanish literature. There is a lot more to absorb than to critique. Before becoming a thinker, you have to be a learner.

Get fucked, Newsweek. That's a polynomial and trig is unnecessary.

Edit: 5x^4 -21x^2 +6x +10. I assure you: Google does not care.

HashTagFU

I critically thought my way out of trying Newsweek for only 1.25 per week. Thanks Newsweek!

derram

https://archive.is/XODHM | :

You’re 100 Percent Wrong About Critical Thinking

'I never praised a student for her critical thinking, nor was asked by a student about, say, critical thinking as it pertained to the third book of The Odyssey. '

'Parents always wanted to know how their children were doing, but none ever asked about their critical thinking. '

'Today, critical thinking is often treated like a panacea, the been-there-all-along salve for our myriad pedagogical boo-boos. '

'But they all agree on a single criticism of public schooling in the United States: Not enough critical thinking is being taught in our classrooms. '

'President Obama, who has generally aligned himself with education reformers and charter school advocates, has said critical thinking is a “21st-century skill” American students lack. '

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