Train Students to Be Thinkers, Not Mere Reflectors

Thinkers do more than accept passively the thinking of others; they endeavor to master what others have said or discovered. Thinkers “contemplate the great facts of duty and destiny“: they are “masters and not slaves of circumstances [possessing] breadth of mind, clearness of thought, and the courage of their convictions.” ^{52Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 17, 18.}MOL 349.8

How does one fulfill this lofty goal? Ellen White expressed certain principles that “thinkers” should understand:MOL 349.9

Thinkers understand the perils of competition. Why one wants to excel is the defining question.MOL 349.10

One of her constant themes is the call to excellence, to reach the highest level possible in whatever field of study or lifework one is engaged. ^{53“[God] designs that His servants shall possess more intelligence and clearer discernment than the world-ling, and He is displeased with those who are too careless or too indolent to become efficient, well-informed workers.... This lays upon us the obligation of developing the intellect to its fullest capacity, that with all the mind we may know and love our Creator.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 333; see Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 499.}MOL 349.11

But a core problem of prevailing educational systems is that it urges excellence for the wrong reasons and its attainment by the wrong methods. Mrs. White asked the question, “What is the trend of the education given?” Then she answered, “To self-seeking.” She described the goals of “true education” as the antithesis of “selfish ambition, the greed for power, and ... selfish rivalry.” She observed that traditional educational methods “appeal to emulation and rivalry ... [and] foster selfishness, the root of all evil.” ^{54Education, 225, 226. “In our institutions of learning there was to be exerted an influence that would counteract the influence of the world, and give no encouragement to indulgence in appetite, in selfish gratification of the senses, in pride, ambition, love of dress and display, love of praise and flattery, and strife for high rewards and honors as a recompense for good scholarship. All this was to be discouraged in our schools.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 286.}MOL 349.12

“Strife for supremacy” encourages “the system of ‘cramming’” and often “leads to dishonesty.” By driving students to compete, “discontent ... embitters the life” and “helps to fill the world with ... restless, turbulent spirits.” ^{55Education, 226.}MOL 349.13

What feeds this spirit of rivalry and the desire for supremacy? Ellen White pointed to the content of much literature: Students “drink ... from the wells of paganism ... fed by the corruptions of ancient heathendom.... And of how many modern authors also might the same be said!” In the sciences she saw the effects of “evolution and its kindred errors” that tend “to infidelity.” Further, she saw that the “work of ‘higher criticism’ ... is destroying faith in the Bible as a divine revelation ... robbing God’s word of power to control, uplift, and inspire human lives.”MOL 349.14

Ellen White saw that when “youth go out into the world” motivated by the assumptions of non-Biblical thought, they have no barriers to meet the prevailing sentiments that “desire is the highest law, that license is liberty, and that man is accountable only to himself.” Youth catch the spirit of society flawed by rivalry and competition and, unless made aware of the price of competition, they have no safeguards to maintain “individual integrity... purity of the home, the well-being of society, or the stability of the nation.” ^{56Education, 226-229.}MOL 350.1

For Ellen White a world of difference separates excellence and competition. This distinction rests on the purpose of education: to “restore the image of God in the soul.” ^{57Patriarchs and Prophets, 595.} Men and women are to “reach the highest possible degree of excellence,” but this goal cannot be reached by a “selfish and exclusive culture; for the character of God, whose likeness we are to receive, is benevolence and love.” ^{58Patriarchs and Prophets, 595.}MOL 350.2

To reach the Biblical goal of education, Mrs. White observed, would require a “radical change in some of the current methods of education. Instead of appealing to pride and selfish ambition, kindling a spirit of emulation, teachers would endeavor to awaken the love of goodness and truth and beauty—to arouse the desire for excellence. The student would seek the development of God’s gifts in himself, not to excel others, but to fulfill the purpose of the Creator and to receive His likeness.” ^{59Ibid. The teacher who understands the purpose of education “will allow nothing to stand in the way of earnest endeavor for self-improvement. He will spare no pains to reach the highest standard of excellence. All that he desires his pupils to become, he will himself strive to be.” Counsels on Sabbath School Work, 103.}MOL 350.3

The inherent flaw in using the spirit of competition to motivate students in the classroom or on the playing field, (or to arouse pastors to reach certain goals and congregations to raise funds, etc.) is that competition is not a principle of God’s kingdom of love—cooperation is. ^{60“Cooperation should be the spirit of the schoolroom, the law of its life.” Counsels on Sabbath School Work, 285.} To fulfill the purpose of education, to restore in men and women the image of their Maker, “the temptation to be first would be quenched in the lessons daily learned in the school of Christ.” ^{61Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 372.}MOL 350.4

Modern educational psychologists have recognized that competition is not a valid motivator. They point out three basic flaws. Flaw One: That young people need competitive experiences in order to enter a competitive society. Flaw Two: That competition is an effective motivator. Granted, they say, competition is “valuable as a motivator only for those people who believe that they can win.” But those who do not believe that they can win are not so motivated; they are further “discouraged and disillusioned.” Flaw Three: The stress on competition leads to morality breakdown and to the compelling rule that the end justifies the means. ^{62Knight, Myths, pp. 225-229. Alfie Kohn, in the book No Contest, argues that competition is inherently destructive, analyzes the prevailing notion that competition is a prod to productivity, a builder of character, and an unavoidable part of “human nature.” The author assembles an enormous collection of psychological and sociological studies that show that competition causes anxiety, selfishness, self-doubt, and poor communication in the workplace, in the classroom, and between individuals.—(Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1986), 257 pages.}MOL 350.5

Thinkers (both students and teachers) have learned that mere memorization is insufficient. Thinking is a learned event. Learning to think is a joint effort by thinking teachers and eager students. Ellen White urged Bible teachers especially “to make the students understand their lessons, not by explaining everything to them, but by requiring them to explain clearly every passage they read. Let these teachers remember that little good is accomplished by skimming over the surface.” ^{63Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 483.}MOL 350.6

Dynamic discussion with students repeating the teacher’s explanations “in their own language” so that it can be determined that “they clearly comprehend” their lessons may be “a slow process,” but it is of “ten times more value than rushing over important subjects.” Not only will students better understand the subject, they will be better prepared to explain the material to others. ^{64Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 434.}MOL 350.7

Thinkers will appreciate a “moral taste in love of work.” To modern minds, this hardly seems to be a factor in developing thinkers, but it lies close to the root of Ellen White’s philosophy of education. In the establishment of the Avondale school in the late 1890s, she urged a principle that she had been emphasizing for at least twenty years—that students must be educated to be masters of labor, and not slaves of labor. She wanted students to see the “science in the humblest kind of work,” to see “nobility in labor.”MOL 350.8

As we have shown on page 346, “manual occupation ... is essential” in order to balance and strengthen mental activity. Minds are “abused” when the physical powers are not “equally taxed.”MOL 351.1

Further, “habits of industry will be ... an important aid to the youth in resisting temptation.” “Pent-up energies ... if not expended in useful employment, will be a continual source of trial to themselves, and to their teachers.”MOL 351.2

For these reasons, Ellen White declared that those whose goal is to obtain a “transformed mind and character” will develop “a new moral taste in love of work.” ^{65Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 352-355.}MOL 351.3

Thinkers understand that perseverance and commitment are the price of excellence. To excel in any line of work requires an eye not easily distracted by “the voice of pleasure” and other diversions. Ellen White pleaded with parents and teachers to instruct young people that good intentions “will not avail,” that “no excellence is gained without great labor.” Furthermore, no great achievement is reached quickly or by ignoring “present opportunities.” Those who reach the “height in moral and intellectual attainments ... must possess a brave and resolute spirit.” ^{66Sons and Daughters of God, 333.}MOL 351.4