Thinking About Thinking Essay


Thinking About Thinking Essay
Ricardo Costa Lima
FDENG 101
Brigham Young University – Idaho 

            There is a paradox about whether an educated person is only founded in formal academic knowledge or someone who route their knowledge in empirical experiences. I believe that the correct answer is the combination of both. Formal education is essential, but needs aid to be most effective; active learning and humility are important components of education because people need to receive knowledge from those who have already learned, and doing so with humility and in a constructive and continuous way prepares them for lifelong learning.
            Butler’s reading were the most extensive and intense from all the readings, well detailed and grounded, shines in details, but errs, in my opinion, in some degree of elitist approach. I have to agree with Cathy Stearns disagreement  on the class discussion board on how the author seems to disregard the role of the parents and how empirical learning, particularly the “breathtaking steps” learning process could, more than other educational institution, determine the future of a child. “No other success can compensate for failure in the home.” (David O. McKay). However, to not seem overly critical, I really liked when he said that “learning must be active”, I deduce that the opposite is a passive, not constructive approach that not induce thinking and development. We read “An educated person is one who by his or her own initiative and discipline is consciously vigorously and continuingly learning." Further, the author add what I think is one of the most important attribute of a “educated person” – humility: “the expansion of one’s awareness of his ignorance as he learns is a guarantee that the educated person is kept humble about knowledge and understanding.”
            I found Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome by Plummer very fresh, light and much less intense than Butler’s, actually I really enjoyed how he speckled the speech with little details of humor, like the Peanuts cartoon. The two main actors: Ophelia and Polonius from one of the most notorious William Shakespeare piece underpin for Plummer thesis: “Ophelia does not know what she should think, and Polonius, reducing her to the stature of a baby, presumes to tell her.” Forward, the author extrapolates the Hamlets tale to contemporary situations: “I worry often that universities may be rendering their most serious students, those who have been “good” all their lives, vulnerable to the Ophelia Syndrome rather than motivating them to individuation.” Education is them the process that capacitate oneself of being different, of thinking “out of box” and being able to developed critical thinking.
            Calandra’s “barometer kid[BL2] ” is in my opinion the combination of the best Butler’s “educated person” and the Plummer’s patient, completely cured of the Ophelia Syndrome by the six steps treatment. The story is really impressive, if based on real facts or not, we don´t know, but the capacity to developed thinking “out of the box” by this kid was admirable, so much that this morning I shared with my wife and my middle one, Rafael (9), this same story. Rafael was so admired by this kid courage, that when I was sharing the story his eyes sparkled, and immediately I had finished the story he affirm with great confidence: “I’m going to do the same!”  
From the readings and from my own analysis I conclude that an educated person is someone that understands the importance of obtaining knowledge trough formal studies; that is humble enough to realize that there are always space for more knowledge, and that learning is a continual life long process, even after our earthly existence; that knowledge is obtained not only by formal studies but also through life long experiences, and whose application can turn us wise; it is the capacity to think, evaluate, and decide without fear and restrains. In reality an educated person is really a free person.






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