Possibly, among the main delights of being married to a very understanding
and loving elementary school teacher are the dialogues we engage in on how
to teach grades one through five to engage in critical reasoning and make
value judgements..
It's not so much in explaining something to a 10 year old, it's getting
them to fully understand what you are explaining and teaching and being
able to build in their own minds on what they have learned. At the heart
of this transmital of understanding is developing in each child the
knowledge, skill and ability to share the knowledge (and hopefully the
wisdom) inherent in the knowledge they have accumulated.
We have all accumulated some information in our lifetimes. Does that
information develop into knowledge that we can share, and thereby use to
help increase the sum total of human understanding?
Is this what understanding should and can be?
AMG
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From: EvMick@aol.com
To: extropians@extropy.org
Subject: Re: Reading ranting grunting.
Date: Wednesday, September 24, 1997 1:15 AM
In a message dated 97-09-23 05:28:44 EDT, you write:
<< I'm convinced that it is true that if you cannot explain
your field of study to an interested 10-year old, then you haven't
understood it yourself. >
I'll buy that...now for a question? Suppose that **I'm** intereted in
something and an >expert< in the field can't explain it to >me<. There
seems to be only two possibilities....either I am less capable of
understanding than a 10-year old....<so simple that only a child can
understand it????> or that the >expert< is very much less of an
expert...being unable to explain his subject to a college
educated,...fairly
widely read adult something which he SHOULD be able to explain to a child.
Or am I missing something?
EvMick
Waterloo Ia.