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Education Requirement
Part 3
(This article follows two previous articles, “Part 1” and “Part 2,” that
give more information how you can improve your education and your life by
better knowing what the words mean.)
Here is a place you
can predict another person’s thought processes.
With that one word and
its sentence misunderstood, later sentences based on that first sentence
will also somewhat or severely be misunderstood.
This is predictable.
This WILL happen. This is not a
“maybe.” Misunderstood words affect people this way. A misunderstood word
has an actual consequence on a person. This is not just some intellectual
topic where we are enjoying spinning thoughts around in our mind, but that
has no effect on the real world. A misunderstood word often brings some
level of harm to a person, especially in the area of not understanding
lessons and not understanding training procedures how to do things.
As an example, what if a
person reads “Change the spark plugs in your car biennially.” (“Biennial”
means every two years. “Biannual” means twice a year.) If that person
walks away thinking “I need to change my spark plugs twice a year,” that
person would waste time and money changing his spark plugs four times too
often. What if the next sentence is “At the same time, change your spark
plug wires”? He would also be mistaken on his spark plug wires, and waste
time and money changing those too often.
What if in a philosophy
class on ethics a person reads “Treat people corresponding to the treatment
you would prefer.” What if the person misinterprets “corresponding” to have
a time sense within it of “before something else happens.” A misunderstood
word can have any of hundreds of false meanings. What if that person
interprets that philosophy sentence to mean approximately “Treat people in
such a way that you can in advance assure you get the treatment you would
prefer”?
In a class of ethics
from the Machiavelli perspective, that could mean “Do onto them before they
have a chance to do onto you.” With some people having some disposition to
think that way anyway, this conclusion could enter a person’s mind and from
then on make it difficult to absorb what that ethics class was trying to
accomplish.
Keep in mind that with a misunderstood word, its overall sentence does not
necessarily have only one possible misinterpretation. One misunderstood
word does not necessarily bring to its sentence only one direct and false
conclusion. The sentence does not necessarily read cleanly with just one
incorrect meaning. On the contrary, there may be some mish-mash and
confusion, if a person feels called upon to add in something else to make
supposed sense of that sentence.
With a misunderstood
word the information will often not “jibe,” the meaning will not readily
coalesce, inviting some complicated mental gymnastics to try to guess an
overall meaning.
A person to “tie up
loose ends” and “fill in the blanks” trying to arrive at a coherent picture
may add in whatever other meaning. He will very often be trying to cram the
wrong puzzle pieces into the wrong holes, and with all his effort still
often arrive at false conclusions.
What is with all this
bother trying to fabricate an understanding from broken pieces? Why not
just look up the words and know simply and precisely what the understanding
is?
It is “beating a dead
horse” trying to guess the meanings. As the first two references in the
previous Website article show, people with better vocabularies usually get
more successful educations and more prosperous lives. It does not work
trying to guess the meanings. Why not just look up the words?
Being given a version of
the “Golden Rule,” a person misunderstanding “corresponding” might
work his way around to coming up with the above false interpretation of “Get
them first.”
If a student knows what
all the words mean, a sentence will have a simplicity and cleanliness of
comprehension. The student will interpret that sentence to mean exactly
what it does mean. But add in a misunderstood word, and that sentence may
vaguely be interpreted in any of a hundred other ways.
Having misunderstood
words, a student trying to balance false, conflicting and vague meanings
from the many sentences in a chapter – will tend to have a complicated,
confusing, and unenjoyable time of it.
Education is much
simpler and easier, less complicated, more fulfilling, more effective, and
more enjoyable – if a student understands the words.
Some students think they
are saving complication and time by not looking up words. On the contrary,
not looking up words will give them more complication, trying to balance the
conflicting meanings that result. Not looking up words may take them more
time in trying to piece together some interpretation, where they often end
up with false meanings anyway.
Predictability of
what happens with not understood words.
While above was
discussed misunderstood words, here let’s look at not
understood words, where a person has no idea what a word means. Not
understanding one word in a sentence will somewhat or severely make
that whole sentence not understood. Later sentences based on that first
sentence will also somewhat or severely be not understood.
This is also predictable. This will also happen.
Is there anyone out
there, including the most far-gone theorist, who is going to say it does not
much matter if students misunderstand and/or not understand the words?
Because the above misunderstanding and/or not understanding the lessons is
going on all the time with inadequate dictionary use.
The question “Are you
getting a successful education?” largely translates to “Are you successfully
learning?” Not to care about adequate dictionary use is almost to say “So
what if students have no idea what lessons mean, or if students are running
around concocting false interpretations that were never intended.” Not to
care about adequate dictionary use is not to care about what is necessary
for a successful education.
Have a dictionary
RIGHT NEXT to you while studying.
Time and again people have told me they do not need an improved book
dictionary because they have a computer in the house. But with that
computer one or two rooms away from where the student studies, the student
may often decide it is not worth it to go over to the computer to look up
word after word.
Or if the computer is
right there but not turned on, the student may decide it is not worth it to
wait a minute or two to set up that computer for dictionary use. Here, too,
a student may decide not to look up word after word.
If a student is to use a
computer dictionary, that computer needs to be right where the student is
and already turned on. Otherwise a student will find a word faster using
this improved book dictionary. Otherwise a student will look up more words
with this improved book dictionary.
Have this book
dictionary right where the student is studying – so that whenever the
student comes across a not understood word, the student will not hesitate to
look up that word.
Contrary to many
schools’ beliefs, it is not satisfactory to have one or two book
dictionaries for a whole classroom, where a student has the inconvenience of
getting up out of a desk to go over to a dictionary. A dictionary needs to
be right by each student, or many students will not use it.
If a student does not
walk into a classroom with his or her own dictionary, that student needs to
walk over to a shelf full of dictionaries and take one dictionary over to
that student’s desk before that student starts reading.
Where a classroom does
not have a shelf full of dictionaries and where a school does not provide
each student with a dictionary, a parent should provide each student with a
dictionary to carry class to class. This is a small enough expense.
I doubt that any school
will mind or feel offended if any student carries around his or her own
dictionary. I doubt that any school will have the battle cry “No knowing
the meaning of words. No carrying around dictionaries.” (Joke.) For his
or her own education success, each student needs his or her own
dictionary.
I was informed that some
schools do not teach students how to use a book dictionary, that they feel
that is unnecessary because they have a computer lab maybe 5 or 10 rooms
away. This is technological short-sightedness. How much pride and ego is
there when they may say “We do not need an improved book dictionary because
we have a computer lab (5 or 10 rooms away)”?
It would cost much less
to have one of these book dictionaries for each student, than in every
classroom to have a computer right by each student.
This dictionary index
helps teach how to use a dictionary.
Many students do not
immediately know alphabetical order. For instance, some students looking up
the word “create” when on a page that has “cumbersome” on it, would not
immediately know if to turn right or left in the pages. This adds to it
taking longer to finding words in a regular dictionary, where a student may
often decide not to look up words.
This dictionary index
has the exact alphabetical order already on the chart, A to Z. This chart
will help a student learn alphabetical order and more quickly find words
even in an ordinary dictionary.
One demonstration of
many schools undervaluing knowing the meaning of words is not providing a
dictionary to each student or having only a few dictionaries for a whole
classroom.
Students will use this
improved dictionary more willingly, more often, and more adequately.
What good is an ordinary dictionary if a student is not willing to use it?
Each student having his
or her own dictionary would be a very inexpensive way to improve education
in all subjects. Objectively speaking, when a school acquires the many
extra needed dictionaries, that school should get these improved
dictionaries.
To get a
definition down pat, make up sentences with the word.
Making up sentences
with a word gives personal experience with a word. Making up sentences
gives personal involvement with a word, so that a person is not just
intellectually thinking about a word. This gives depth of understanding and
certainty on a word.
After making up enough
sentences, you will find that you are no longer “trying” to remember the
meaning. The effort will be gone. You will simply know the meaning.
Among the different
definitions for a word, first find the definition that fits the sentence
where you encountered that word. Make up sentences starting with the
definition that fits.
The Emperor's New Clothes
"The Emperor's New Clothes" is a fairy tale
that has some analogy to our present situation in education. In this fairy
tale a clothes maker sells an emperor some supposed new clothes. The
clothes maker tells the emperor that only the pure of heart can see these
clothes.
The emperor could not see these clothes, but
did not want to admit he was not pure of heart, so the emperor pretended he
could see the clothes. The public was also told the same pure-of-heart
story.
One day there was a big parade where the
emperor walked down the street with his new clothes. Everyone pretended
they could see the clothes. Except one little child, who called out loudly
"The emperor is naked."
Then everyone admitted and agreed to the
obvious fact that the emperor had no new clothes.
As an analogy, there is much study and
research that has been going on to try to find out why education is failing
so dismally. Much emphasis is placed on fancy new theories.
Who notices that in everyday education that
words are continuously being used to present the learning material? Hmmm –
maybe it would help to know what the words mean. There's a thought.
Here is an OBVIOUS topic that words are being used. Words are right
in front of everyone all the time. Who is willing to deal with the obvious
right in front of us?
What possible theoretical justification could
there be not to look up unknown words encountered while studying? There
isn’t any.
(The issue at hand is people in one language
learning a subject in that language. The issue is not trying to learn a
class in a language a person is scarcely familiar with, where people may not
look up all the words.)
An obvious research study that could
have been done 25 years ago.
It is surprising that with the many thousands
of research studies done every year on how to help education, that hardly
any deal with the effect of not knowing what the words mean. I have looked
on the Internet and elsewhere and have found about nothing.
How about a study being done of some classes
where the students are encouraged and agree to look up in dictionaries every
word that is not understood? This study would include other classes that
use dictionaries an average amount – or what is going on right now
everywhere. What difference would there be in the comprehension level of
these different classes, and in those different students' ability to use and
apply that information in the real world?
With all the thousands of studies being done,
would this not be an obvious study to do? Does anyone care about the
obvious topic continually in front of us, of knowing what the words mean?
This is not to say that the average teacher
does not value knowing what words mean. They do. And many, many teachers
will very quickly welcome an easier-to-use dictionary that students will
more adequately use.
The analogy is that for too long some
theoreticians and researchers have not been interested in an obvious topic
continually in front of us. It turns out to be a priority topic that has
severely harmed education. It is time to pay attention to the obvious.
Some students in a bubble of no
responsibility/don’t care.
This last section of this article is a
departure from the earlier part of this article. Perhaps from this last
section some students can recognize how to make better use of their
education years.
Sometimes in school a new course is jumped
into, with the instructor saying “Learn this, learn that, memorize this,
memorize that” when the student does not yet have any idea what the supposed
relevance of that subject of study has to do with his or anyone else’s life.
Some students may not really ask or care
about the relevance why they are studying that subject in the first place.
Some students may just start memorizing away anyway. It is as if some
students are in a bubble, where there is no particular connection between
what they are doing at school and their real life.
Some students may just figure “I’ll just play
along with this education game, conform with whatever the teachers want, and
supposedly this will somehow help my life later.”
You can ask such a student “Why are you in
school?” That student may answer “I don’t know. I am not really involved
in this, just going through the motions. I did not choose to be here, am
not responsible for anything here."
Some students’ attitude may be that they are
just getting good grades – A, B, or C – and whatever that really has to do
with their lives, they don’t know. If having little interest in any subject
apart from the grade received, two weeks after finishing a course they may
already have forgotten half of it.
A student can be in school because he wants
to be there, towards serving some of his own purposes. Or a student
can be there largely because someone else is making him be there – and have
less interest in the whole activity.
Instead of for years turning your lives over
to some teachers somewhere, and dutifully, maybe unthinkingly, conforming
along – – recognize that this is your own life. Forget for a moment
what other people want you to do, so for the moment you are not being pushed
around by anyone, and you are not obeying anyone.
Take some time out
to consider what you want from your education, and what it can do for
you. You can “empower” your own life, even as a student. You can take more
control and decision power over your own life.
You may decide that if you went out in the
world right now to support yourself, that you might not be quite prepared
for that. And that apart from earning money, that there might be other
things you can learn to give you a broader understanding and appreciation of
life. You might even decide that you want to learn this, just
because of what it can do for you.
You may decide that one subject after another
has real relevance, and may even be necessary for you to do well in
life. At the start of any course, if the teacher does not carefully point
out the value and relevance of that course, you can ask that of the
teacher. Or you can otherwise look that up and find that out on your own.
Course by course, you may discover that you can use each or most of these
classes better to serve your own purposes.
Instead of being in school somewhat
reluctantly or lackadaisically, you might find yourself adding more of your
own free will choice to be a part of your own education. You can
take responsibility for your own successful education and life, and not need
anyone else to push you towards that.
True – with this attitude you may act less as
if your only purpose in school is to do whatever a teacher wants, and some
few teachers may have a problem with that. It is a different attitude –
being there to learn and serve your own broader purposes. But more
teachers will be pleased with this attitude, where you are powering along,
being more interested and willing to be part of each lesson.
You will discover that most teachers can be
your friends, giving their services to help you reach for yourself a better
life. Even if a rare teacher is not totally “together,” you can take some
value from and learn that class anyway.
It is fairly well known that some students
who do not go directly from high school to college, but go out in the world
a while, when they later do go to college, have more interest in their
studies and apply themselves better. This may have something to do with
their really wanting to be there and with their better knowing the relevance
of it all. They may better know that their whole purpose in education is
not just to parrot some words back, hand some words back, to a teacher.
You can acquire this attitude without taking
time off from school. Just take more charge of your own life, decide why
you are there.
There is a connection to
this self-empowerment and looking up words. Students who are in school
reluctantly, and who are trying to put in the least amount of effort
possible, might figure “One way to put in less effort, where they (the
teachers) will never know, is not to look up the not understood words. Oh,
how clever I am.” But the main person being harmed there is the student.
It is just a fact that
to have a successful education and a successful life, you will have to know
what the words mean. It is your decision whether or not you look up the
words.
© 2002 Alexander Weilgart
(Please refer to end of
earlier article “Part 1” for permission under certain conditions to print
and photocopy these articles to give to others.)
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