Innovation in
Teaching & Learning
What does critical thinking mean in a world with conflicting perspectives?
Ray Bradbury, the author of the novel Fahrenheit 451, presents a society in the future that "outlaws" books. Bradbury was inspired by the historical role of book burning as a form of covering up ideas and observations on how the media was turning interest away from reading literature. Fahrenheit 451 was published in 1953. Bradbury saw himself as "a preventer of futures not a predictor of them". (Aggelis, 99)
I thought of the novel, Fahrenheit 451, while reading the article 'History from a Philosophical Perspective', by Catherine Broom. The future is difficult to predict, but history presents patterns that we can use to recognise them in the present. "History" is, in fact, derived from a Greek word meaning "research" or "inquiry".' (Broom, 3) How can we, as educators, instil the passion of inquiry in our student's to think about our world today to be innovators of tomorrow? Thinking about Bradbury's thought about the role of historical book burning, actually dates back to ancient Roman times. There is the latin phrase 'damnatio memoriae', which literally means condemnation of memory. (Varner, 2) It was a term used by the Roman state to erase or burn aspects of history. By erasing history, people lose a sense of identity to the point of ruining an entire civilisation. It was used as an act of punishment. (Friedland, 669) This actually creates mayhem because lessons from the past are lost, values are confused and people question who they are with very little explanation. The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what is. (Broom, 2) Such acts have happened throughout history in expeditions that would completely wipe out entire libraries and condemn people for their race, culture or religion. By opening up the pathway of inquiry for our student's to explore different sources. History is the re-enactment of past thought in the mind of a historian in order to answer a question about people in the past the historian had first articulated. (Broom, 1) If student's are only presented with a one sided view or a limited perspective, how can we facilitate the creative thought process, when the initial questions were not explored? Knowledge gained by the historian allows him or her to comment on whether the changes occurring in a society are indeed "progress", or improvement. (Broom, 2) Perhaps innovative ideas from the past may seem great at the time, such as the creation of the automotive industry. However, now we see it's influences on the climate, which gave way to 'green technology'. "Progress" doesn't necessarily mean a benefit to society, however patterns from the past could demonstrate how problems were addressed and the motives behind them. As Bradbury quotes, "There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." Knowledge is out there, so seek it and analyse it. 'History is a holistic subject...It is a science, as it is a process of conducting research using historical sources in order to enlighten a historian and his or her readers on a problem or issue visible in contemporary society. It is an art, for it requires interpretation.' (Broom, 6) There's always a reason to why certain situations are manifested to how they are today. If we pick and chose what we want to read or only explore sources that suit us best, are we what we read then?
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AuthorAn advocate, explorer, inquirer but most of all an educator. I stand by all my students in their pursuits to learning. Categories
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