When people talk about education, they often focus on two dimensions. One is: What shall we teach children? The other is: How will we know if they’ve learned it? ... But there is another dimension, less obvious but much more important: How are we getting them to use their minds? What kinds of learning skills are we getting our students to make use of? What kind of mind training is going on, day in, day out, in our schools? We know that people’s minds are made up of mental habits, and many of those habits of thought are developed in school. So we need to be sure that the habits of mind we are training are the ones that young people are really going to need.
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So HOW schools teach is more important than WHAT they teach. Children need knowledge, but they need even more the habits of mind that will enable them to prosper in the real world. Every school leader needs to keep asking herself two questions. Which teaching methods are going to get students the best grades? AND: Which methods are going to help them develop the supple, curious, creative minds that they are surely going to need if they are to flourish in a complicated world?
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Are we making them into people who love certainty and correctness, are ashamed of ignorance or confusion – and get the grades? Or are we helping them stretch and value their curiosity, conviviality and thoughtfulness – and get the grades? Are we building strong, rounded minds that can attend carefully, think laterally, disagree respectfully, persist imaginatively and tolerate uncertainty? The French writer Voltaire reminded us that “Doubt is an uncomfortable condition – but certainty is a ridiculous one.”
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