Optoid: When Trivial Facts become Authentic

Susan Brooks-Young argues that knowledge of historical facts does not measure whether she is a well educated person. She challenges the authenticity of televised street interviews that ask people to name the first five presidents of the United States.

So what? That bit of knowledge level information and $2.90 will get me a personal non-fat latte at the local Starbuck’s.

She argues that critical thinking and problem solving skills are more important than “rote learning.”

That argument continues. People can look up specific facts. They don’t have to memorize them to use them on demand.

However, trivial facts for one are “authentic,” vital facts for another. How can a teacher know in advance what is trivial for whom and what will save another person’s life in the future, even if everyone has access to Mobile PCs?

I agree that critical thinking and problem solving skills help us in everyday life. Both give priority to using rules of logic. And both rely on content provided from someplace.

For someone whose everday life involves solving problems that affect other people’s lives (that’s most of us), let’s hope we share a common perspective and don’t have to look everything up in order to hold a conversation. For example, I’m unclear what Brooks-Young means by the words “rote” and by “authentic.” More than one definition, short of professional jargon, exists for both.

I want my doctor to know and not have to look up my symptoms for a heart attack before acting to save my life.

I want public policy makers and implementers (including public school teachers) to know the history of civilization before they vote on legislation or instruct someone else on how to think.

To that end, I want teachers to insist that students can recite on demand key elements of that history, in part to insure that another generation of teachers will be well educated to help students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.