OPINIONS ARE OVERRATED

Last week, I heard that President Obama was going to be delivering an address to students and that students “had” to watch it and that there was going to be a “mandatory lesson plan” that “would ask students to think about how they could support the President’s policies”. Ok, so that alarmed me. I didn’t think the President should be sending out lesson plans that involve students exploring ways to support the President’s policies. That smells too much like a dictatorship, and I don’t like dictatorships.

So, what did I do? Did I go turn on my radio and listen to what other people were saying? Did I run to my newspaper and read the editorials? Of course not. I just went online, read the text of the speech, and then came to my own conclusion, a conclusion based on facts and not on opinions.

I discovered that the President’s address was a very appropriate message that advocates something that I firmly believe: if you work hard in life, you are setting yourself up for success.

I also discovered some more facts. I discovered that there was a lesson plan, but the White House removed it after the large amounts of complaints. I tried to find the details of this lesson plan, but I couldn’t, so it is no longer a part of my whole analysis of the situation. I am curious what the educational objectives were for this original lesson plan so that I could determine if there was any truth to the idea that it would encourage students to support the President’s policies, but since I can’t get any good information on these details, it is dismissed. Not neglected, but simply in the category of “no data found”. Where there is no evidence, there is no conclusion, only speculation.

What does this have to do with sharing opinions?

There seems to be an idea in education that suggests that the most-effective and engaging way to teach is by sharing opinions. We all sit in desks, read a piece of paper, and then talk about our opinion on whatever is read.

Frankly, I think this method of instruction is both boring and ineffective. I am always more interested in the facts and the details than I am interested in how someone reacts to these facts.

Of course I think there is value in listening to the opinions of others. I don’t think you should run through this world with your fingers in your ears. I do, however, object to the idea that sharing opinions will lead us to the answer. If I am ever diagnosed with cancer and the doctors are trying to figure out the best plan of action, I don’t want all of them to get together and share opinions about my condition.

Dr. Bill: “Wow, that is one big tumor. I mean, please don’t misunderstand me, it simply appears to my educated and trained eye (one educated and trained eye amongst many) that, possibly, quite possibly, this may be a significant problem.”

Dr. Charles: “I think, in my humble opinion, and with all due respect to everyone near me and potentially near me and anyone who will ever hear what I say, and with great respect for those who disagree with me, both in the past, now, and forever, and even though I may be wrong, from my perspective (albeit one amongst many very educated perspectives) this is a scary situation.”

Do you think that simply discussing these opinions is going to get me anywhere closer to an accurate and effective plan of action? I don’t want my doctors to discuss opinions. I want them to discuss facts, because facts lead to answers while opinions usually just lead to emotions.

I think teachers do a great disservice to students if we model a system of learning that is based on opinions instead of facts. If we advocate systems of learning that are based on opinions, we will not prepare our next generation to be the informed and analytical thinkers that they need to be. We will have students who think you should go to editorials to find out about what is happening in the world and to discussion boards to find out who to vote for.

The truth is like a rock, but opinions are like mud: distorted, manipulated, and constantly changing. A foundation of rock will outlast a foundation of mud, so explore the truth with great depth and insight and analysis. It is the only education that will endure through time.