Albert Einstein, with his usual sense of humor and evil, said that “you really only understand something if you’re able to explain it to your grandmother. “Following this correct phrase, it seems logical to believe that teaching you to think to understand how the world works is a sensible idea.
Now, I’d like to ask a question in the air: does learning to think really teach us to be freer?It doesn’t seem that this question has a simple answer, or maybe it has it, maybe it’s so obvious that, because it’s so simple that we can’t accept it or it could be an extremely complex issue. Let’s look at some important details.
- Professor Abilio de Gregorio.
- A graduate in education sciences and specializing in home teaching.
- Says that reflection should be a disciplined act.
- Thinking and intention to want to think must come into play.
For him, reflexive will is fundamental in any educational process, both by educators and students themselves, that is, there is no transfer of useful knowledge and pedagogy if subjects do not add to their own bases of thought and interpretation.
This means that when we pass on our teachings, customs, traditions, and education to our children, we must envelop the child in a cloak of thought that allows him to interpret and appropriate information, from his or her own point of view and knowledge.
“The un plowed earth shall have weeds and thorns even if they are fertile; Is that the understanding of man?Saint Teresa of Jesus?
Once the importance of teaching to think is established, we must confirm that this action is really an obstacle to being freer, so it is very necessary to know exactly what freedom is.
The term “freedom” has two other accepted meanings. On the one hand, it would be the right or ability of individuals to choose their own way of acting in a particular time, environment or society.
In this sense, conceptions such as religious freedom, freedom of conscience, freedom of opinion, freedom of thought, etc. , that is, everything that the human being can choose, always through his possibilities and rights, are appropriate.
Another interesting definition of the term freedom would be the condition or condition of a person who is free, because he is not subject to the will of others, is not imprisoned under a regime that causes him shame, obligations, duties, disciplines, etc.
Now is the time to answer the bold question at the beginning of the paragraph: does learning to think make us freer?The answer is, of course, yes. Let’s think about the reason.
If we refer to freedom as a person’s right or ability to freely choose how to act at any given time, it is obvious that an individual who thinks or knows how to think will tend to act freely. Therefore, you will have more skills than anyone who does not think at all, or who follows the standards set by your inherited or assimilated belief system, lack of knowledge or similar reasons.
I understand that teaching to think is a very important part of anyone’s education. It’s not just helpful to know that something is happening; it’s even more important to know why, how, when, etc. All this is only possible through the teaching of thought, so that each individual can develop his or her own model of reasoning, interpretation and understanding.
Thus, when making decisions, the person who will feel freer is the one who, by exercising the thought, will be able to study a greater number of variables that are presented to him.
On the other hand, an individual who moves instinctively, by the teachings of society, by an education limited to showing what is going on or simply to indicate that what others do, will not be so free to choose, because their choices are reduced due to their lack of capacity.
The problem is that the information is not understandable. Nadine Gordimer