Old wisdom on education

Apart from the usual political mess , newspapers seem to pay

    a great deal of attention to   society's disappointment with

    the public schools . Always the same complaint: The kids can't

    read, can't write, can't think - beside not even knowing right

    from wrong !

          We must accept the reality of the Bell Curve when it comes

    to learning ability.  Only a tiny minority of the population will

    ever be true lovers of learning , lifelong book worms - recognized

    members of an intellectual elite .

             But I suspect that Johnny can't read , can't write,

    can't add , can't think .... because Johnny can't CONCENTRATE.

           How much money does  it cost to teach Johnny THAT ?

      Writes Gilbert Highet in his book " The Art of Teaching " :

       " Concentration must be learnt. It should be learnt in

    school. A good teacher can teach it to his pupils... Concentration

    is also an intellectual process. It is a choice..

         But the young naturally " hate concentration. It is

    an effort, an unfamiliar and painful effort. Watch a boy

    doing his homework when he thinks he is not observed... "

          " If he goes to work on leaving school, life will

    teach him concentration- or else it will make him

    a nonentity, the sort of man who hops from job to job

    and has a constant struggle to keep alive in a world

    where bees outnumber butterflies. " ( pages 68 , 69 )

             And the number one enemy undermining a kid's

    ability to just PAY ATTENTION ?  Why the TV, the boob

    tube - of course !

           I suspect long walks - which nowadays might

    seem eccentric - would improve  any kid's ability

    to concentrate. The rhythm of walking is also the

    natural rhythm of thinking and reading. And it is not

    for nothing that writers report that they can write

    better  after a long walk.

           I have taken the bus out to URI on some mornings

    and observe the " affirmative action " crowd in a

    completely listless state. Nobody even reading a

    newspaper ! Is it RACISM that puts their minds to

    sleep ? Do racists keep them from entering the URI

    library which has engraved on it the words of Malcolm

    X : " I could spend the rest of my life just satisfying

    my curiosity... "

             Malcolm learned to CONCENTRATE in jail -

    with a minimum of public funds.