by Jon Dainty Sr.

Created on: June 19, 2009

Education changes a student's life. While it is perfectly accurate to claim that years of exposure to the river of information available via the Internet probably will leave them wet, one cannot continuously swim in the river. A student seeking to improve life through the acquisition of learning should take instruction in more rigorous ways than Internet use affords.

Intellectual instruction

Following is a small part of one method of instruction which worked well. It was crafted by James Mill for his son, John Stuart Mill:

1. The student is required to read from a substantive text and then on the next day give an oral summary of what he read.

2. The teacher then comments on important ideas connected with the ideas the student has summarized. The student is then required to state in his own words these explanations and summaries.

3. The student is required to read the works of important thinkers he would himself never choose to read, but that illuminate important traits of mind. (Elder and Cosgrove, p. 3)

This method challenges the mind of the student and requires real engagement with the material rather than simple exposure. The argument on the other side, of course, is that materials gleaned from the Internet may also challenge. An important missing element, though, is teacher-student interplay, which inculcates critical thinking skills at a higher level as the instruction continues while also varying the types of exposure to the materials.

Reading and recitation may be on the agenda for one or more days. Then reading others' work gives way to writing one's own commentaries and original pieces, then offering these up for discussion and editorial development. The process is materially improved by the participation of others whose ideas will also be addressed in logical fashion.

Moral instruction

While some might question its importance initially, this instruction concerns the character of persons with regard to issues of right and wrong or, to put a finer point on it, concerning their conformance with accepted standards of conduct. In short, there are ways in which people everywhere ought to act, and while the Internet will allow us to read all about them and view video regarding the interactions of people, these moral questions require discussion with real people face to face.

For instance, we might posit that it is better for a disgraced military officer, once convicted of treason on forged evidence, to rot in

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