Slow
Learning – March 6, 2005
There is one definition of
intelligence that involves speed, results and competition – getting the right
answer to a question quickly and doing it faster than anyone else. Many parents
seem to buy into this definition by comparing the speed at which their children
master skills, and being proud when they have learned to walk, talk or read
before the neighbor’s kids have. Many teachers show that they value this type
of intelligence by praising students who can come up with the “right” answer
to an oral quiz, who solve problems quickly, or who choose the most prescribed
answers on a multiple choice test within the allotted time frame. Unfortunately,
some people who perform well in this sort of school setting don’t do as well
in the real world. And conversely, many successful and unquestionably
“intelligent” people like Albert Einstein do poorly in school.
That’s why I prefer a definition of intelligence that involves
the ability to explore the world and to understand one’s experiences in it.
You could call it “slow learning” because it’s not oriented towards quick
results or competition with others. Rather, it involves knowing how to create
hypotheses and to test them. It also understands that answers are only
“right” in certain contexts and favors the personal process over the more
public – and testable – product. As Harvard professor Ellen J. Langer writes
in her book The Power of Mindful Learning (Perseus Books, 1998), “If we
can shed [the] outcome orientation, we may discover that the freedom to define
the process is more significant than achieving an outcome that has no inherent
meaning or value outside that particular setting.”
When education becomes a journey rather than a destination,
learning can be seen as a process of active self-determination. And that is a
life’s work.
Posted: 2005/03/06
12:22 PM
