Sparing the reader a long and illegible introduction, this
writer will head straight to the crux of the issue at hand. In the daily
newspapers, a general article with an eye catching header reads "GHOST
SIGHTED AT MID VALLEY". In this piece of reportage, the writer describes
the apparition from an eyewitness account, "It was grey and black, floated
upwards and seemed very angry".
After two 'supporting' articles in the days that followed, the sighting
in question is now accepted as fact. People now avoid the aforementioned
shopping mall for fear of encountering this ghastly demon, and perhaps rightly
so. Who in their right minds would want to encounter such a thing? The word is
quickly spread to warn others who missed this.
What is the problem here, this writer asks? Surely this only
happens in an unevolved society unable to discern fact from fiction. Surely
readers within the circulation of that particular article will demand further
analysis before making up their minds. Surely someone will say "hey, wait
a minute, has this happened before?, if so where?, can we trust the author?,
can we trust the eyewitness?, what could be possible agendas for the basis of printing
this story?
The problem here is that our children in their formative
years are exposed to articles such as "Ghost sighted at Mid Valley"
and commanded to memorize and regurgitate it at a later time. Perhaps too
simplistic an example but yes, on a grand scale reflective of subjects taught
in schools and reflective of the end product: Biased opinion without due
consideration of mitigating factors. The formative age of a child is defined as
the period of physical and psychological development from the onset of puberty
to maturity.
This is the window where educationists can reach into the living
neurons within the child and shape it to not only absorb information but to
also, more importantly, dissect it and make better sense of it. This
information, be it about nature, history, language, civilization or religion to
name a few categories, when analysed thoroughly gives the individual a better
perspective of not only about the world around them but also their sense of
self.
Conversely, a child with no such ability simply does as he
is told and lives only through the experiences of others, never truly forming
an independent point of view.
This herd mentality is one that is prevalent
amongst developing nations holding true to the notion that individuality should
be stifled for the betterment of the masses. This worked well for some
societies. One would dread to think of a philosopher or an artist in hunter
gatherer colonies. In such groups, the men hunted and the women gathered. The
rest were simply passengers if they did not pull their weight in these two
aspects.
However, one would like to believe that natural selection
over thousands of years have shaped human cognition tremendously from a
basic thought process to the perception
of efficacy in any given modern society. Merely listening to what is said and
taking it at face value is not enough.
Faith in the unexplored is unacceptable today because the
answers are there; you just have to look for it. Question things from all
angles, not just the side that appears first.
Get children excited about knowledge for it is them who are
going to pass it on to the next generation.
The writer grew up in Malaysia but was lucky to go to
college and have teachers that encouraged critical thinking. It is a unique
cognitive awakening when topics are discussed and debated without fear of
putting anyone (especially the teacher) in negative light. When you critically
discuss something based on facts a new picture emerges. It is no longer drab
and dreary; it becomes a fun challenge where the victory is understanding.
