Education as Intellectual Activity

Howard Johnson
Jul 27, 2017 · 1 min read

Junaid, I was struck by the similarities of your approach to math with Thomas and Turner’s approach to writing; proving an educational approach that spans disciplines.

(W)riting is an intellectual activity, not a bundle of skills. Writing proceeds from thinking. To achieve good prose styles, writers must work through intellectual issues, not merely acquire mechanical techniques. . . . Intellectual activities generate skills, but skills do not generate intellectual activities. (pp.1–2)

I also like that you draw the connections to measurement and the aspect of the problem that is secondary to the measurement approaches that are currently in vogue. John Sowa (2006) traces this to Russell and Frieg at the development of logical positivism. Speaking about the distinction between Frieg and the pragmatist CS Peirce:

In focusing their (the Logical Positivists) attention on tiny questions that could be answered with utmost clarity in their logic, the analytic philosophers ignored every aspect of life that was inexpressible in their logic. (Peirce) incorporated logic in a much broader theory of signs that accommodates every possible question, answer, perception, feeling, or intuition — clear, unclear, or even unconscious.

I agree if you mean that our educational expectations cannot succeed without this larger perspective. This does not mean abandoning assessment, all teachers assess, but the measurement methodology should be approariate to the unit of analysis.

Howard Johnson

Written by

Pragmatist, Ed Psychologist, Win the future of Ed

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade