"The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled." That's a quote by Plutarch. It's a pity that people didn't pay attention to this quote. So many people think that learning is filling your head with facts. To me, facts are only useful if you know what to do with them.
The best educators teach you how to think, not what to think. They teach you to question everything...not just take their word for it. I always find multiple choice questions a waste of time. They don't test what you know, they test what you remember. Knowing and remembering are two different things. To know a subject, you need to see the why of the matter. For instance, If someone says Bill died in a car accident, you may feel bad for Bill. What a shame! Now, how do you feel if someone told you that Bill died in a car accident. He was driving drunk and crashed into a family of four head on and killed the lot of them. You might feel a little less sorry for Bill then... and more sorry for the family he killed. The why of the matter made all of the difference didn't it. I home school my daughters. Right now, I am teaching my youngest daughter to read and do arithmetic. Still, I have already started teaching her how to think though. I ask her open ended questions about the stories we read and movies we watch. I don't always expect her to have the correct answers. I do expect her to at least try to give some type of an answer. And she usually does. On our way to karate, I will often ask her what she sees. Sometimes I will go further and after she tells me what she sees, I will ask her if she saw something specific that she didn't mention. Oftentimes she says yes that she saw it. I will then ask her why she didn't say it then. This will make her stop and think. And then she will give me an answer. The exercise helps me to teach her to look at the details. It also teaches her to ask questions too. With my older daughter, I ask more detailed questions. Usually about her school work, but sometimes about our surroundings, or the people we see. All of the questions I ask her are open-ended also. Maddie is used to the game and she is a bit more observant at this point. Her leaps of logic are also astounding sometimes. I want both of my daughters to be able to think for themselves. Not just to be told what to believe or led to believe what they hear on the TV. Question everything is my motto. Follow the money, or look for the underlying reason for everything. Sometimes the reason why something occurs... either in nature or in a social setting is easy to see. Oftentimes they are not. Over time I want my daughters to know to look for the why in everything. If they can see the why, it will keep them out of trouble. Why? will kindle the fire of your intellect. After the fire is lit, How? can help to fan the flames of logic. It is not enough to know the why of the matter (sometimes it is), true understanding comes from learning the how too. To me, Why? and How? are the two best ways to put your mind to use and to use it effectively.
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