There's no doubt about the need for children to acquire a basic level of knowledge as part of their education. Reading, writing, math and science are indispensable parts of U.S. public school curricula, and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law is intended to hold schools accountable for effectively teaching students these subjects. But some education theorists have raised the possibility that the new requirements may tend to "lock out" less traditional ideas about education. Yale psychologist Robert Sternberg, for example, studies effective ways to teach children to help others rather than hurt them, and to make decisions in the best interests of themselves and those around them. In other words, Sternberg asks, how do we teach children to be wise?
Teaching Wisdom in School
Sternberg, president-elect of the American Psychological Association and a leading authority on intelligence and creativity, discussed the issue at the recent Positive Psychology summit held at Gallup's Washington, D.C., headquarters on Oct. 3-6. Sternberg's presentation, titled "Wisdom, Schooling and Society," focused on the importance of teaching wisdom to students in America's schools. According to Sternberg's research, "teaching for knowledge" is not enough -- students must also be taught how to use their knowledge wisely. As an example, Sternberg cited the top executives at Enron -- very intelligent, creative and successful individuals who made very unwise decisions that ultimately led to their company's destruction.
Acting wisely requires the ability to understand the potential consequences -- both short-term and long-term -- of one's actions to oneself and to others. That understanding, in turn, requires the ability to see a situation from various different points of view. Sternberg advocates a system of "infused instruction" in which these principles are taught in the context of various traditional school subjects. For example, when learning about early American settlers in history class, students should be taught to understand that while many people in Europe viewed these settlers as heroes, many Native Americans viewed them as invaders. Understanding these differing points of view will help students understand that their actions can have different consequences for different people or groups.
Barriers to Teaching Wisdom
Sternberg believes that the path toward inclusion of wisdom in public school curricula will be rocky. The passage of NCLB has increased emphasis on standardized testing nationwide, and these tests tend to focus on measuring knowledge and skills, not wisdom. Because teachers often feel obligated to "teach to the test," they may be hesitant to devote valuable time to a new concept like wisdom, for which their students are unlikely to be held accountable.
Given the current public opinion climate, the emphasis on standardized testing may not abate anytime soon. According to the 2002 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools*, slightly more than two-thirds (67%) of Americans think student progress should be tracked based an annual test, as required by NCLB. However, the public is divided in its view about the current amount of emphasis placed on achievement testing -- 19% think there is "not enough," 31% think there is too much, and 48% think there is "about the right amount" of emphasis.
Striking a Balance Between Knowledge and Wisdom
So the question becomes how can teachers meet the demands of NCLB while teaching students to be wise at the same time? Sternberg suggests a common-sense approach: "Teach critical thinking in disciplines in the context of teaching wise thinking. In other words, rather than just teaching information, teach the information and encourage children to think about how to use it …Teaching for knowledge is compatible for teaching knowledge for use."
Key Points
The ability to understand the consequences of our actions and make wise decisions is clearly an asset that differentiates humans from other animals. But the capacity to take harmful, unwise actions (including horrendous acts such as murder and genocide) has also plagued humankind since the beginning of time. Sternberg makes the point that, as technology becomes more powerful and globalization increases societies' reliance on one another, the need to ensure that future generations are imbued with wisdom at an early age will only increase.
*These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,000 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted June 5-26, 2002. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3%. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.