diff --git a/_posts/2015-07-20-progress-mindsets.md b/_posts/2015-07-20-progress-mindsets.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..233bb76b14 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2015-07-20-progress-mindsets.md @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@ +--- +layout: post +title: "Learning: The two progress mindsets. (and what Hayek has to do with it)" +date: '2015-07-07T13:13:00-06:00' +summary: "There are two ways in which we can understand progress. Whichever one is our understanding, radically impacts the way we approach learning." +category: learning +author: alejo +image: progress.jpg +--- + + + +
++ +I've come to the conclusion that there are two ways to understand progress, +and that whichever way we choose to understand it, +will radically impact how we approach learning. + +Let's explore the two understandings and their implications, by visiting one +of my favorite economists/philosophers. + +### The Two Types of Progress + +In _The Constitution of Liberty_ Hayek makes a distinction +between two types of progress: + +1. Progress in connection with our individual endeavors. When we've set a fixed +aim and our measure of progress becomes our advancements towards our goal. +2. Progress as we see in social evolution. Progress as a process of learning +and adaptation, of trial and error. As a process where what we think is possible, +along with our values and desires, are constantly changing. + +Contrast the two ways. In the first one, we know exactly what we're aiming for. +In the second one, progress becomes the discovery of the not yet known, and +therefore, its consequences are unpredictable; This is a much more general +understanding. + +### The Two progress mindsets + +Let's look at two examples: + +1. A school with a set curriculum for Math, Literature, Writing, Science, etc. +Where the teacher lectures the students, asks them to be calm and quiet. Then, +tests them to measure how well they're learning the curriculum. +2. A school that has computers and internet, games, books, but no teachers +giving lectures or even commanding that a student does something. A school where +students choose what to learn and when to learn it. + +The first school focuses on fixed learning goals, while the second one +forgets about goals and focuses on creating conditions favorable for learning. + +### The Impact on How We Approach Learning + +As you can see, both schools are radically different. + +If we understand progress always leads into the unknown, the most we can hope +for is to understand how to create the conditions for it. + +There's no question that each person on this earth is unique, +and has unique gifts and talents. +If what we're looking for in our education system +is not to drive everyone towards the same goal, as we would do in a factory, +we need to start understanding education as a process +that is rooted in trial and error, +where we're not pursuing one definite outcome. A process where each one of us +learns for learning's sake.+ Progress is movement for movement's sake, for it is in the process of learning, + and in the effects of having learned something new, that man enjoys his + gift of intelligence. +
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