I saw a clip once recently of Jordan Peterson, talking about teaching. He said something like, “Teaching is not primarily about the transmission of knowledge; it’s about setting the intellectual frame, and dramatizing the act of learning.” And he’s right. If I could communicate on some level that what we’re learning is meaningful and important to me, that’s when I was most effective. I might be wrong in some respects about teaching primary students, but the goal for even them is eventually self-directed learning, with the ultimate meaning of the information determined by the students. I taught emerging young adults, and Peterson teaches young adults in university.
A computer can correct a factual mistake, programmed correctly. A teacher tells the story of why the facts and data matter. It need not mean the same thing to the students as it does to the teacher, but if you tell them, “What you make of it is up to you,” and they believe you, you’re going to have enormously motivated students who will be leaders themselves.
Now, if you want to regale me with all the moral defects of Donald Trump, I’m here for it. And why he shouldn’t be where he is, etc. But the man can set a frame. And I don’t think I’ve met an apathetic Trump supporter in my life. There must be one, by the nature of the case. But hoo boy! Everybody this side of Obama dreams of that kind of loyalty.
I used to agree with Alan Noble that Peterson was an empty vessel. But now I think I just missed what he brings to the table. He’s a classroom teacher, par excellence. And I think if we could get Trump to be nice and not settle scores for fun, he could revolutionize the failingest school in America. He’s 80, so oh, well. And I don’t really like him. But I know about teaching and teachers.
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