Socratic Arts

Socratic Arts' Newsletter

A Monthly Newsletter by Roger Schank

A Sailing We Will Go

In the summer I often hang out on a friend’s boat in the Greek Islands. I never expected to learn something important about education there. I was thinking about sun and water.

We were parked (or whatever they call it) at a dock on the island of Naxos when I happened to hear a voice in German giving what seemed like a lecture on a large sailboat parked next to us. It didn’t take very long to figure out that the guy giving the lecture must have just rented his yacht to the set of eight people (four couples I guessed) who were listening attentively to what he had to say.

Now, if you know anything about me or my views on learning you know that the idea that people were listening attentively to a lecture is somewhat astounding to me. I didn’t think it could be done. What followed next was even more astounding.

The lecturer must have said that they should now all try to do whatever he had said they must do. (My German is not up to snuff and I had no idea what he had been saying.) One by one, silently and carefully, each of the eight tied up whatever he had said to tie up in the way he had said to tie it up. (It must be clear at this point that I know nothing about sailing.) Then he talked more, and they proceeded, silently, carefully, and in an orderly fashion to do what he had told them to do (I assume).

I had never seen anything like this before. If a group of my friends had rented this yacht the jokes and comments would have been coming fast and furious, people would have been wandering off, there would have been yelling, and no one would have done anything particularly right when asked to do it.

No wonder I have the view of education that I have. I’ve never known anyone who listened that carefully. I didn’t know it was possible.

And suddenly I understood everything.

Our education system was planned and executed first by Germans. When the current curriculum and its method of delivery by lecture was developed, the people who planned it (in 1892) were simply copying the German teaching and learning methodology which was respected world wide at the time.

And now I realized why this system seemed to work. Germans actually listen when people talk. And, at the time the German system arose, people as a whole were probably better at listening – there was no IM or television or cell phones to shorten attention spans.

Funny how that doesn’t happen anymore in most places though (and maybe not as much in Germany any more, either). Actually I don’t care to wonder about why it doesn’t happen here, it just doesn’t. Perhaps a system of education developed only for people who are good at sitting and listening is really not such a hot idea, especially since most of us don’t have the slightest ability to sit still and absorb.

So, my point? Looking at a boat full of my friends receiving the same lecture the Germans received, it would be obvious that lecturing wasn’t working. They’d have quickly lost interest, begun talking amongst themselves, or gotten distracted. Looking at the Germans on the boat, it’s not so obvious, but I don’t think they were really learning either. Could they immediately play back what they’d just been told? Apparently so. Would they be able to apply what they’d just learned successfully in an urgent situation on the water? Probably not. It’s just that the faults of lecturing are more clearly highlighted by my group of friends than the Germans on the boat, because culturally, Germans might be better at sitting and listening (or maybe it was just this group of Germans).

Even when, to both teachers and students, lecturing appears to be working, (students intently listening, nodding heads, taking notes), what’s going on in the minds of students probably looks a lot like what’d be going on on the boat full of my friends – distraction, lack of interest, and only a vague recollection of what was said. Even though it can appear that lecture-based, PowerPoint-driven learning is effective, it rarely is, and is almost never as effective a use of time as the learning-by-doing approach that could be done in its stead.



	Socratic Arts' Newsletter A Monthly Newsletter by Roger Schank A Sailing We Will Go In the summer I often hang out on a friend’s boat in the Greek Islands. I never expected to learn something important about education there. I was thinking about sun and water. We were parked (or whatever they call it) at a dock on the island of Naxos when I happened to hear a voice in German giving what seemed like a lecture on a large sailboat parked next to us. It didn’t take very long to figure out that the guy giving the lecture must have just rented his yacht to the set of eight people (four couples I guessed) who were listening attentively to what he had to say. Now, if you know anything about me or my views on learning you know that the idea that people were listening attentively to a lecture is somewhat astounding to me. I didn’t think it could be done. What followed next was even more astounding. The lecturer must have said that they should now all try to do whatever he had said they must do. (My German is not up to snuff and I had no idea what he had been saying.) One by one, silently and carefully, each of the eight tied up whatever he had said to tie up in the way he had said to tie it up. (It must be clear at this point that I know nothing about sailing.) Then he talked more, and they proceeded, silently, carefully, and in an orderly fashion to do what he had told them to do (I assume). I had never seen anything like this before. If a group of my friends had rented this yacht the jokes and comments would have been coming fast and furious, people would have been wandering off, there would have been yelling, and no one would have done anything particularly right when asked to do it. No wonder I have the view of education that I have. I’ve never known anyone who listened that carefully. I didn’t know it was possible. And suddenly I understood everything. Our education system was planned and executed first by Germans. When the current curriculum and its method of delivery by lecture was developed, the people who planned it (in 1892) were simply copying the German teaching and learning methodology which was respected world wide at the time. And now I realized why this system seemed to work. Germans actually listen when people talk. And, at the time the German system arose, people as a whole were probably better at listening – there was no IM or television or cell phones to shorten attention spans. Funny how that doesn’t happen anymore in most places though (and maybe not as much in Germany any more, either). Actually I don’t care to wonder about why it doesn’t happen here, it just doesn’t. Perhaps a system of education developed only for people who are good at sitting and listening is really not such a hot idea, especially since most of us don’t have the slightest ability to sit still and absorb. So, my point? Looking at a boat full of my friends receiving the same lecture the Germans received, it would be obvious that lecturing wasn’t working. They’d have quickly lost interest, begun talking amongst themselves, or gotten distracted. Looking at the Germans on the boat, it’s not so obvious, but I don’t think they were really learning either. Could they immediately play back what they’d just been told? Apparently so. Would they be able to apply what they’d just learned successfully in an urgent situation on the water? Probably not. It’s just that the faults of lecturing are more clearly highlighted by my group of friends than the Germans on the boat, because culturally, Germans might be better at sitting and listening (or maybe it was just this group of Germans). Even when, to both teachers and students, lecturing appears to be working, (students intently listening, nodding heads, taking notes), what’s going on in the minds of students probably looks a lot like what’d be going on on the boat full of my friends – distraction, lack of interest, and only a vague recollection of what was said. Even though it can appear that lecture-based, PowerPoint-driven learning is effective, it rarely is, and is almost never as effective a use of time as the learning-by-doing approach that could be done in its stead.
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