Such problems probably would be eased if Americans were more knowledgable and thought more effectively. But is the common failure to do either of these a consequence of a lack of education? Perhaps the real culprit is a widespread lack of educability.
For education to be effective a majority of citizens must possess sufficient intelligence, maturity and curiosity to benefit. Suppose they don't. Suppose a great many, perhaps even most, Americans are not educable, only trainable. Consider P.T. Barnum’s observation that “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Contemporary evidence suggests more suckers are born per minute than that. Then there is the lasting appeal of H.L. Mencken’s dictum that “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.” Then there is the enduring popularity of charlatan evangelists and grifting politicians.
I've experience in dealing with insufficient intelligence, maturity and curiosity. I've spent nearly 50 years trying to interest undergraduate "students" in that little blue orb we live on that sustains our very lives. I sought to interest them in its: origin, age, health, catastrophic events, weather, varieties of people and customs, and so forth. I used every teaching aid and graphic demonstration I could think of to make these things come even more alive. Nevertheless, a fair number of "students" responded with open-mouthed indifference. Sometimes the only question at the end of a lesson would be: "Will that be on the test." It reminded me of the Chinese proverb: "When a finger points to the stars, the imbecile looks at the finger."
It's undeniably true that "you can't cure dumb." And roughly half of the U.S. population is below average in intelligence. And in these days of low applicant numbers and lax admission standards, some of that half will surely be attending college.
But stupidity isn't the only problem. Perhaps it's not even the primary problem. For instance, this course I taught was required. The students had to take it. And as Plato explains: "Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind." Perhaps this was what, at the root, explained much of the indifference I encountered. Some students must have been saying to themselves, "They can make me attend, but they can't make me care."
There's also their immaturity? The Bible says, "Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age." (Hebrews 5:14.) Lots of kids haven't aged enough, nor are they yet selfless enough, to appreciate much of anything that transcends their late adolescent self-absorption. Education truly is "wasted on the young."
Lack of curiosity is another factor. While curiosity is absolutely required for meaningful learning, it is not measured by IQ tests. Indeed there is no standardized test I know of that measures curiosity. But some students seemed largely devoid of it. Yet to be educable, as opposed to merely trainable, one has to have at least a modicum of that precious commodity. Not wanting to know as a means to some other end, mind you, but wanting to know as an end in itself.
Why is the curiosity so frequently missing? What happens to it? One possibility is stupidity coupled with a lack of imagination. But there are others. For instance: being so consumed by fear, or anger, or emotional hunger to focus on anything else. Then there is being besotted by drugs, or a simple a lack of readiness? (Curiosity in these "students" will emerge: just not yet.) But whatever the reason, when curiosity is missing, even the best lessons go to waste.
Can we remedy this? Somewhat. These steps might help: 1. Rethink compulsory education. 2. Enroll more adults and fewer adolescents in college. 3. Recognize the vital difference between training and education. (Training only teaches you to make a living. Education teaches you how to carefully consider what makes living worthwhile.) 4. Use every available tool to bring the instruction alive. 5. Try to start where most of the students are. Nevertheless, remember, "you can't cure dumb."
Of course every teacher faces some degree of indifference. That is why Sisyphus should be the patron saint of teachers. Remember, Zeus sentenced Sisyphus to eternally push a giant boulder up a very steep hill. When he finally reached the top, the boulder would roll back down. Sisyphus would then have to push it up again, and again, and again. That's what every teacher does. Repeatedly push the boulder of knowledge up the same steep hill of stupidity, ignorance, and indifference. It's a wearying and thankless task. But should they quit pushing and just pretend, they become a fraud.
Boulder pushing aside, though, too many Americans simply are not educable. They're either too dumb, too damaged, too immature and/or too incurious to benefit from education. They're only trainable. Good teachers know that. Their job is to keep pushing that boulder and, in the act of pushing, slowly and carefully separate the educable from the trainable. It is not their job, however, to pretend all are educable and in the pretense turn education into an undemanding farce.
Source: https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Sisyphus/sisyphus.html
To examine these issues further, see articles at www.newfoundations.com
