Don't Make Kids Draw Conclusions

Don't Make Kids Draw Conclusions


In seventh grade I entered Junior High School and was required to write lengthy term papers. In these papers I was asked to do research and draw conclusions. Often I felt unprepared to draw conclusions, but I drew them anyway to satisfy the teacher. Fortunately most of my junior high and high school teachers weren't trying to extract predetermined conclusions from me. They simply wanted me to try to say what I thought even though I lacked sufficient information and experience to know what I thought. College was much worse. There I encountered professors who required me to agree with them or suffer the consequences. In one humanities course an erudite professor capably presented and supported his views, but they did not ring true to me. When exam time came I stated what I believed, supporting my opinion as best I could. I didn't have the years of research and experience he had to adequately support what I thought, but I honestly felt he was on the wrong track and I wasn't willing to compromise my belief for a grade. I got a D minus in the course.

Education is destroying America because it has the wrong emphasis. We should not require children to draw conclusions in term papers or essays. This hinders the search for truth. Few of us have done enough thinking to be able to draw valid conclusions, and even if we have, those conclusions should be continually reexamined, improved and even discarded if later proved wrong or inadequate. Our culture suffers because thinking has been banned from the schools. Personal agendas have supplanted the search for truth and wisdom. Every time you ask a child to draw a conclusion before he is ready you are thwarting his personal development, because he is incapable of honestly drawing one. The only information he has is that which the teacher provides, so you in effect force him to lie.

Conclusions that don't come from within aren't really conclusions. They are simply words said to please somebody. The ones who are truly struggling refuse to play this game and end up branded stupid and inept.

Instead of demanding conclusions, we should ask the child to list questions for further study. This leads to continued growth. It is important that a student find a conclusion that rings true to him, but that can take a lifetime.

Don't try to force a child to have an opinion before he is ready. That only makes it less likely he will ever find out what he really thinks. Our children should not have to spend the majority of their time rejecting imposed ideas. Teachers need to be unlocking wisdom, not jamming children's receptive channels with their own ideas. This is why the "back to basics" movement in education is a refreshing change. There is nothing wrong with asking kids to memorize basic mathematical, scientific, grammatical, geographical or historical facts (as long as they are really facts). Kids need to hone their skills and become able to draw information from their minds as needed. They need to be able to perform basic mathematical operations quickly and effortlessly. They need to be able to read and understand the meanings of words. All of this is excellent discipline. But they don't need teachers tampering with their minds on social issues and requiring them to express their opinions. Teachers are entitled to their own opinions, but they should view it as a sacred trust to respect the fact that children basically have not formed their own true opinions and probably won't until they are well past forty.

The period of childhood (and young adulthood) is about learning. If we wish to see a society of wise adults we must stop requiring people to form conclusions before they are ready. Sure, expect discipline, have high standards, strive to be quick, sharp and to do your best in all you do, but stay out of the realm of opinion. In a world where so many are competing for the minds of our youth teachers should not become one more pressure on our children. Let the kids think and in due time they will come up with some surprising answers that will benefit all of us.

To have a culture that will last we have to have a populace that can think. In our society every candidate who runs for office knows how to swing your vote. The schools are the same way. They know how to control your thinking. It has become the way of life in America. Advertising, the media, politics, religion, and, yes, education have to a great degree chosen to control thinking rather than awaken the wisdom that allows a person to think for himself. Any child who challenges the prevailing assumptions is in trouble. We can't and won't survive long this way. We live in an extremely dangerous time. We need our young to help bring us through, but they can't if we won't let them think.