Hmm...Is it okay for any one to say, " I am knowledgeable."?
During my college days I had come across a book called The dialogues of Plato. In it Plato refers to Socrates who had said, " The only thing I know is that I don't know."
I have never forgotten the sentence.
I am now reading The Tao of Pooh. It's such an easy read and yet so powerful.
"Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has Brain."
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that that's why he never understands anything."
In other words, your knowledge can come in the way of your understanding of something!
And another favourite quote:
"But isn't the knowledge that comes from experience more valuable than the knowledge that doesn't? It seems fairly obvious to some of us that a lot of scholars need to go outside and sniff around - walk through the grass, talk to the animals. That sort of thing."
Recently in school, we had a PD, a PYP refresher course. We started off with a fun activity. We had to say our name, followed by the grade we taught and then the Learner Profile or Attitude we thought we best represented. This was to be accompanied by rhythmic claps. I was a little tickled I must say, when I heard some people say they were "Knowledgeable."
Who can really say that?! Doesn't knowledge come from individual experience? ...Subjective? Isn't it relative to everything else?A fraction of what we don't know? The tip of the iceberg?!
Benjamin Hoff, the author of The Tao of Pooh refers to certain types of knowledgeable people...those who acquire it to be clever; to appear wise, and to complain. As I read the passage I find myself becoming less and less intimidated by the intellectuals around me :)
So are we teaching our students to claim that they are knowledgeable?
This post is not a denial of the power of knowledge! Knowledge helps us have a converstaion with people; become experts in a certain field etc but while talking to people whom we feel are 'simple', they should not become the intellectual snob and look down upon others. Aren't most of us guilty of this?
Our students should grow up knowing that being wise does not necessarily mean being learned; and that being learned does not necessarily mean being wise. Let's stick to being open-minded, and knowledge will follow suit.
Signing off
Ms Owl
During my college days I had come across a book called The dialogues of Plato. In it Plato refers to Socrates who had said, " The only thing I know is that I don't know."
I have never forgotten the sentence.
I am now reading The Tao of Pooh. It's such an easy read and yet so powerful.
"Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has Brain."
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that that's why he never understands anything."
In other words, your knowledge can come in the way of your understanding of something!
And another favourite quote:
"But isn't the knowledge that comes from experience more valuable than the knowledge that doesn't? It seems fairly obvious to some of us that a lot of scholars need to go outside and sniff around - walk through the grass, talk to the animals. That sort of thing."
Recently in school, we had a PD, a PYP refresher course. We started off with a fun activity. We had to say our name, followed by the grade we taught and then the Learner Profile or Attitude we thought we best represented. This was to be accompanied by rhythmic claps. I was a little tickled I must say, when I heard some people say they were "Knowledgeable."
Who can really say that?! Doesn't knowledge come from individual experience? ...Subjective? Isn't it relative to everything else?A fraction of what we don't know? The tip of the iceberg?!
Benjamin Hoff, the author of The Tao of Pooh refers to certain types of knowledgeable people...those who acquire it to be clever; to appear wise, and to complain. As I read the passage I find myself becoming less and less intimidated by the intellectuals around me :)
So are we teaching our students to claim that they are knowledgeable?
This post is not a denial of the power of knowledge! Knowledge helps us have a converstaion with people; become experts in a certain field etc but while talking to people whom we feel are 'simple', they should not become the intellectual snob and look down upon others. Aren't most of us guilty of this?
Our students should grow up knowing that being wise does not necessarily mean being learned; and that being learned does not necessarily mean being wise. Let's stick to being open-minded, and knowledge will follow suit.
Signing off
Ms Owl
