Let's talk about 101

[coberst]

Let’s talk about 101

Most colleges have a numbering system identifying the courses being taught. In the college catalogue you are apt to find that your freshman courses are Physics 101, Chemistry 101, Literature 101, Geography 101, etc. The introductory course to a particular domain of knowledge is likely to be numbered 101. This has led to the common usage of 101 as meaning an introductory course.

If elementary schools followed this format, which they do not, you would see first graders taking Reading 101, Writing 101, and Arithmetic 101.

Only recently have our (US) educational institutions come to the realization that teaching youngsters what to think is necessary but not sufficient. The educational community has decided that our schools and colleges must begin to teach young people HOW to think. Our schools and colleges must begin teaching Reasoning 101.

Twelve years after graduating with an engineering degree I took a night course, Logic 101 (i.e. Reasoning 101), from the physics department of a local college. I was amazed to discover that I had no knowledge about this fundamental human capacity of reasoning before I took this course. I pondered the unbelievable fact that after 16 years of education I had no comprehension of the science of reasoning. I recognized at that moment that my educational system had seriously short-changed me.

That this serious omission is still universal was once again brought to my attention recently when I posted this response to a fellow forum member: “Reading is fundamental. Writing is fundamental. CT (Critical Thinking) is fundamental. These fundamental elements of human knowledge appear constantly and in all matters because of their fundamental nature. With the following reply: “¦sleeping is even more fundamental than all of those... I don't think everyone needs to study sleeping - practice seems good enough.