HN Explorer

Should Education Focus on Connections/Understanding Rather Than Pure Knowledge?

2 points by malnourish ↗ HN
I am furthering my education in psychology, political theory, and philosophy, and I would like to know what HN thinks.<p>Do you think a problem with education lies in how, or what we teach? What would you like to see?<p>(I apologize if this is against protocol for HN, but I think it is a thought provoking question.)

2 comments

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stretchwithme
I think education should be centered around what a child wants to learn and explore instead of a fixed set of things that should learned.

Who decided that memorizing multiplication tables is more important that learning how to make music?

Personally, I agree with Murray Rothbard that education would be a lot better off without all of the coercion.

Human beings are natural learners. Is being made to sit at a desk for hours listening to what someone else thinks you should learn really the ideal way to learn?

Far more people come out of our schools unwilling to learn than go in that way.

stretchwithme
The brain is primed to learn when you really want to know something or to solve a problem.

Excitement about learning is far more important than learning A, then B, then C and then being finished. The truly accomplished are excited.