This strange year has proven several things about the standards of American education. Decades of test-centric tendencies have devalued critical thinking. It leads to lower capacities to speak, think, and most perhaps most importantly, to write. In particular, I look towards widespread vulnerability to “fake news” or treating misleading “sources” as fact as one example. Many of these sources are poorly written and thought out. That such aspects go unrecognized among adults (who are products of our education system) is alarming.
With our students forced into a life of distance learning with little warning, I worry that flaws in our education systems are exacerbated. In recent years, I noticed that our students inability to critically examine and evaluate sources is a flaw mirrors American grown-ups’ incapacity to handle the reality of misinformation and manipulative “doublespeak” that has populated political rhetoric.
What can we do against this level of anti-intellectualism? Whether we are discussing our response to Covid-19 or our continued racial issues, Americans of all ages are unprepared to think deeply, calmly, and empathetically about a worrying range of subjects.
Successful People, Not Just Successful Professionals
Traditionally, literature courses focused on a limited set of texts with clear and established views (and therefore, answers). Coupled with a pure emphasis on STEM, there’s already a generation of students-turned-adults who have successfully navigated the system put in front of them by being obsessed with singular, linear perspectives. In turn, they have spent less time in the open-ended exploration of the lives, feelings, and experiences of others.
For our students who are still very much moldable, we push our students beyond pure STEM success. We aim to round out our students into becoming more than just competent professionals, but holistically successful people. Why? Because we will one day rely on them to be functioning members of society who think beyond themselves, challenge issues that directly affect their neighbors, and they examine diverse viewpoints. But in order to do so, they need to have the discernment which protects them against increasing amounts of misinformation in our media.
One initiative we agree upon at Legend College Prep is to shift our Language Arts focus from test-driven educational policy and standardized tests (which reward pure memorization) towards critically layered essay questions. Multicultural literature and rigorous writing instruction provide an excellent arena for this. It pushes our students into compassionate people who think for themselves, who resist propagandistic tactics, and usher widespread hope in the spheres of cultural inequality, climate change, and scientific advancement.
Using Literature to Boost Critical Thinking Skills
Now, you may ask, “How can reading books from other cultures result in scientific advancement or climate policy?”
Reading literature from minority and immigrant authors, ensures that our students experience life through others’ eyes. These books help us learn about ourselves through the experiences of others. In doing so, our students empathize with people who may not share the same privileges as others due to factors they cannot control.
This empathy pushes our students into new ways of thinking: what will climate change do to refugees in war torn areas? What medicinal advancements can be made to make access to healthcare cheaper, or universal? Why does poverty continue to exist, and what can be done to ensure famine never arrives? These multi-faceted questions go well beyond the SAT, nor do aptitude tests seem interested in examining these issues. And yet, these types of questions are the very deep, meaningful issues that should influence the products, services, and policies our future generations need to manage!
By the way, in this kind of environment, don’t you think being this kind of agent of change sounds like real success?
Balancing STEM and the Humanities
This is not just a concern for LCP. Colleges across the country are reporting a student base that cannot write deeply, skillfully, or critically about issues without extreme handholding. Campuses across the country now require writing and communication courses for thousands of underequipped freshman regardless of major. They are unable to write reports with reputable sources, unable communicate with peers or professors, and unable to give well-reasoned criticism.
Please don’t misunderstand: we’re not, in the least, against making sure our students are prepared in STEM subjects. We’re actually more ambitious than that. We want these fields to mutually enhance the other. LCP provides top tier instruction where STEM is emboldened by literature and art, as well as giving the Humanities an outlet that transforms empathetic theories into tangible impact.
Even though we are physically far apart from each other we do not need to remain emotionally distant and uncaring. I believe we can teach our students a meaningful type of caring, with the hope it turns into meaningful action that ensures the thriving of future generations.