Larry Sanger Blog » An example of educational anti-intellectualism - 0 views
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In other words, if you strip away the edu-speak, Wheeler is saying that students should be taught a lot less declarative knowledge. Since this is what we ordinarily mean by “knowledge,” we can put it even more simply: Wheeler is opposed to teachers imparting knowledge.
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1. Much of the declarative knowledge that matters, and which requires time and energy to learn, is not of the sort that can be gained by looking it up in Google. You can read some quick analysis of the causes of the Great Depression, but you won’t really know them until you’ve studied the subject.
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2. Most accepted knowledge doesn’t change, even over a lifetime. Fine, Pluto’s no longer a planet. The others are. 99% of what we knew about the solar system 50 years ago has not been disconfirmed. Most new knowledge adds detail; it does not render old knowledge useless. (Besides, the professor would not be able to cite this as an example if he had not learned that Pluto was a planet; he couldn’t be an articulate, plugged-in thinker without his “useless” declarative knowledge, which he could count on other educated people sharing.)
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very interesting article - what do you think Ian?
