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Education, education, education...
Nov. 23rd, 2006 06:58 pmSay what you like about American celebrities, some of them have got their heads screwed on.
I refer, of course, to the recent revelation by Will Smith in the Reader's Digest about what he considers vital content in the curriculum for his children -
RD: Have you ever thought about going back to college?
Smith: The things that have been most valuable to me I did not learn in school. Traditional education is based on facts and figures and passing tests -- not on a comprehension of the material and its application to your life. Jada and I homeschool our children, because the date of the Boston Tea Party does not matter.
RD: But there are some basics in education that need to be taught.
Smith: Of course there are. Reading, writing and arithmetic, because those are the languages of our country.
RD: When you say you homeschool, do you mean you actually teach them?
Smith: No, we have hired teachers who teach what we feel is important. For example, Plato's Republic -- kids need to know that. Why is that not taught in first grade?
RD: You think kids in elementary school should read Plato's Republic?
Smith: Yeah. You cannot be an American without reading it and Aristotle's Politics. That is what the forefathers of this country read, and they used them to create what I believe is the finest system of government that has ever existed.
Obviously, whether 'the finest system of government' is what is still in place is another matter, but it's wonderful to see someone speaking out on the neccessity of the classics as the solid basics of an modern education. Note, basics. I'd love to hear Mr. Smith's opinions of the role of science in education.
I refer, of course, to the recent revelation by Will Smith in the Reader's Digest about what he considers vital content in the curriculum for his children -
RD: Have you ever thought about going back to college?
Smith: The things that have been most valuable to me I did not learn in school. Traditional education is based on facts and figures and passing tests -- not on a comprehension of the material and its application to your life. Jada and I homeschool our children, because the date of the Boston Tea Party does not matter.
RD: But there are some basics in education that need to be taught.
Smith: Of course there are. Reading, writing and arithmetic, because those are the languages of our country.
RD: When you say you homeschool, do you mean you actually teach them?
Smith: No, we have hired teachers who teach what we feel is important. For example, Plato's Republic -- kids need to know that. Why is that not taught in first grade?
RD: You think kids in elementary school should read Plato's Republic?
Smith: Yeah. You cannot be an American without reading it and Aristotle's Politics. That is what the forefathers of this country read, and they used them to create what I believe is the finest system of government that has ever existed.
Obviously, whether 'the finest system of government' is what is still in place is another matter, but it's wonderful to see someone speaking out on the neccessity of the classics as the solid basics of an modern education. Note, basics. I'd love to hear Mr. Smith's opinions of the role of science in education.
