Free Essay

Knowledge and Learning

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By Herbal411
Words 732
Pages 3
Sarah Wilson
December 2nd, 2013
Knowledge/Learning essay
Monday 6pm Intro Philosophy

Regarding the two clashing models of the human mind in early modern epistemology (Locke’s tabula rasa and Leibniz’s Statue in Marble) I believe that nurturing, upbringing, environment and experiences are most important to a person’s success in life. Personally (I think) when a baby is born they do not possess any superior talents at that stage of their lives. While I understand (from my own experiences as a mother) that babies are capable of basic physiological functions like urination and defecation, they to possess a seemingly instinctual desire to suck/nurse. That instinct, I hypothesize, could be argued or prioritized as in-born talent according to Leibniz, seeing as to how a baby wants to do that right out of the womb. To elaborate a little further, it is my belief that as the child ages, it may become evident that they have a propensity to do certain activities particularly well, exhibiting what appears to be a “natural” talent or aptitude for what they are doing. Perhaps this activity comes easily to the child (and time goes on adolescent, then adult) because of the way their brain is hardwired? Thinking from a rationalist perspective, it is plausible that the reason why the child excels at what they do is because of the cognitive ability that they have in relation to said activity. If the child “has the smarts” to do something well, logic would lead one to believe that they would excel because they grasp the semantics behind it. Supposing this is true, that cognitive ability leads to excellence, which leads people to believe that a talent is in-born, how is it perpetuated? It is my belief that this is where empirical methodology takes a stronghold. If (according to empiricism) true knowledge comes from experience, then the more the child does what they’re good at, the more knowledge they will acquire about it and the more proficient at it they will become. When it comes to giving a good education to our children, what that is and how to acquire or procure that is very hotly debated. Even more so now, with the institution and implementation of what’s called “common core.” Given the two choices in this example, (ie testing for natural aptitudes or designing environments and experiences) I would be more apt to choose the latter. Assuming I am interpreting these options correctly, (based on my experience as a mother and the difficulties I have seen my eldest daughter go through) testing for natural abilities seems to cause nothing but strife and sadness. I realize that my daughter is at a slight disadvantage educationally (speech impaired, slight learning delay, etc.) so that may be a factor in this equation as well, but I have noticed much more frustration and bouts of mild depression in her due to the increasing pressure because of this common core (nonsense in my humble opinion.) Pertaining to the second option, I perceive that to be synonymous with doing one’s best to mold their world (educationally, and domestically) to fit their needs. I feel very passionately and emphatically that this is the significantly better option. Again referring to my eldest daughter, I watched her struggle greatly in the traditional general education kindergarten classroom setting. After much deliberation and research, my husband and I collectively agreed in placing our daughter in a special education setting referred to as 3/1/1. That being, a general education teacher, a special education teacher and a teacher’s aide present in the classroom at all times, thereby lessening the student-to-teacher ratio from 20-1 down to 6-1. It was through this more individualized attention setting in conjunction with the exposure and working with the staff that my daughter needed are what contributed to her no longer struggling to the point of crying but instead excelling and getting good grades! In our experiences, it is incredibly self-evident that by redesigning the educational environment for our child (even if it meant repositioning her into said new environment) and exposing her to the new experiences there, that she was able to maximize and utilize the tools of her education. We as a family, have experienced firsthand that this is a better option in giving a good education to a child, particularly one in need, like ours was.

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