As soon as I saw the title of the
chapter, I got excited. I love puzzles, riddles, and anything of the sort, and
I also like video games. While skimming, I thought this chapter had to be the
best in the book. “The Puzzle Hungry World” was probably my favorite chapter of
Smarter Than You Think. Though, that
chapter is not the one I am discussing, but ‘tis the next chapter, “Digital
School”.
I do have specific reasoning for
introducing “The Puzzle Hungry World”, worry not. In one part of “Digital
School”, Thompson discusses the fact that children tend to read much better
when the subject has something to do with one of their interests. I can easily
identify with that. It was much, much simpler to read “The Puzzle Hungry World”
than any other chapter of the book because it was about subjects I was
interested in. If school talked about these things more often, I would be many
times more interested in it than I am now. That is saying something because I
am really interested in learning anyway.
One would think that it is crazy
that the education system utilizes this proven fact, but there are many
problems that arise. If one uses only the child’s interests, it teaches inflexibility, and the ability to handle diverse adversity is one of the best abilities a person can
have. If he only deals in his interests, he will fail when forced into a
situation he does not like. He would then have to learn the hard way.
I find it much easier to pay attention when I am learning something I am interested in as well. I perk up at almost any history reference because I love history!
ReplyDeleteYour post reminds me of college. We get to study whatever we want. It's really exciting and freeing to think about. Like you said, however, we still have to keep our knowledge broad (that's why we also have to do General Education in college). From what I've heard from college kids, it's a nice combination. Classes that don't have to do with our major provide us with a mental break from our major classes, while our major classes let us learn what we love.