Decades ago the then president of Columbia University posited that we should extend adolescence because so many new facts were being discovered we needed to keep students in school longer that we might fill them up. In a strange way his idea has come to pass. Adolescence is the transition time from being a child to being an adult. Developmentalists now suggest that adolescence can extend into one’s early thirties. However, he could not have known that someday we would carry devices that instantly supply us with any fact we need. While there is still a need for a foundation of facts such as times tables and phonics, some things are no longer needed such as cursive which is no longer taught in many states.
Curriculum gurus today are rightfully stressing there is no need for fact stuffing but instead the need to teach children to think. Thinking is not something to take for granted. Thinking like so many things in life has degrees of quality. There are some who self-deceptively think they are thinkers but instead allow others to think for them. Then there are people who understand the pitfalls of poor logic and recognize how easily they can be swayed by mistaking relationships with causality and other fallacies of logic.
In Isaiah 1:18 God says, “Come thou, let us reason together.” God does not desire mindless obedience. He wants us to understand the whys of His wisdom. This week as a parent was dropping off his children, we heard him say, “Remember, before you act. Think about it.” This is what God wants from us. Books are not smart. They are only filled with facts. Being smart is what we do with them.
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 24, 2012
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org