The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

I just discovered this quote attributed to George Bernard Shaw. I believe that he was right about communication being all too often an illusion. I am quite sure he will agree with me that all too often that what is regarded as teaching is also an illusion.

Too often what is passed off as teaching is just the talking that is done by the teacher. The real meaning of what is supposed to be taught is lost on the students. This is despite the latter’s ability to memorize, regurgitate, and do mechanical operations. Real meaning of what is taught is lost in a sea of “factlets” (see Perkins), little disparate bits of information which have little importance to the students except for some high stakes examinations.

A medieval high stakes test. Click on picture.

“Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts; nothing else will ever be of any service to them.”

Mr. Gradgrind

From Charles Dickens’ Hard Times

Does this sound familiar to you? Many schools all over the world have as their educational philosophy something similar to that of Mr Gradgrind’s. The sad thing is that when Dickens wrote that it was for an age long gone, namely, the Industrial Revolution.

Yet such a view about what schooling should be all about is still very much prevalent, even in a country like Singapore, which is often lauded for its “good” education system. The emphasis is on stuffing the brain. Just fill the brain with facts. The teachers’ job is to fill the brains with facts, or more accurately, as David Perkins has pointed out, with “factlets” or disparate bits of information with little relevance except for the great Trivial Pursuit game that most high stakes examinations are.

Never mind if the facts make little sense to the students. What is important is that they pass their examinations which for many is just a ticket to a place in a university or a job. For many, they will never see the relevance of the thousands of bits of information that they have learned in school. Makes one wonder if all that learning has been a monumental waste of time and money?