Very few people would disagree public education is anything other than a failure as it gets worse and worse. A new study proves college fails in the most important idea to teach: learning how to learn, with logic and critical thinking.
Forty-five percent of students made no significant improvement in their critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills during the first two years of college, according to the study. After four years, 36 percent showed no significant gains in these so-called “higher order” thinking skills.
Group Think Failure
How does the modern, trendy “group consensus” process work? Amazingly poorly, it turns out.
The study also showed that students who studied alone made more significant gains in learning than those who studied in groups.
“I’m not surprised at the results,” said Stephen G. Emerson, the president of Haverford College in Pennsylvania. “Our very best students don’t study in groups. They might work in groups in lab projects. But when they study, they study by themselves.”
The consensus process transformed students from getting it right to feeling good about being wrong — many people have stunning errors in logic. The ability to think clearly and logically simply isn’t taught anymore, and students (and later adults) lack the ability to analyze a set of facts to arrive at a conclusion, instead looking for a group to form consensus with — even if that group decides 2+2=5.
Learn How To Learn
THE most important concept is learn how to learn and think for yourself, avoiding group-think and consensus. Unfortunately, public education will not provide you with this most basic skill — you’ll need to do it yourself, especially if you’ve been recently educated.
To begin your quest, start with the book “Discerning Truth” by Dr. Jason Lisle (ISBN 978-0890515945). It’s an easy read and not dry at all if you’re afraid of a boring logic textbook.