Polonius is the Man

Well, actually Polonius isn't really the man. I just felt weird saying Ophelia was the Man... Anyways, about that essay we read. Just in case you've forgotten, Thomas G. Plummer wrote about Individuation and that finding out exactly who one is, one is able to avoid being controlled and find greater fulfillment and greater happiness. John J. Murphy disregarded many aspects of Plummer’s views and argued that “formal education becomes unhealthy when it is consciously directed toward ‘individuation,’ the discovery of the uniqueness of self” and that we need to look outward to learn and appreciate ourselves. I, personally, believe that they have both missed the mark. Education should be focused on cultivating new ideas but must work its way towards that goal as a student progresses.

Plummer’s suggested style of teaching is the ideal; however, it is difficult to control. As students continue throughout their education, they should be encouraged to pursue routes and but should cover a certain curriculum that will serve them later when they enter the real world and leave the academic world. I took piano from a teacher that would ask me what I thought of everything from what a certain measure meant to why a song had a certain chord progression. By doing so and finding patterns in the music that most people just plow through I was able to accelerate my learning exponentially, but I couldn’t take lessons from him until after I had another teacher who I had to learn to trust, teach me the basics of reading and playing music. By learning in this order I was able to better understand an idea that is complex and unexplainable and was given the opportunity to make my way from student to a peer with all the tools necessary to exceed the master.

Murphy is much more controlling, which is necessary to learn the basics of everything from life in general from parents, to a specific study. Well I feel like that's enough writing... How about a comic as an apology for that being so long winded?

(http://xkcd.com/773/)