"Can You Fill Your Child With A Lot Of Information?"

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled in, but a fire to be ignited. - Plutarch"

The above quote has always been one of my principles in creating the light bulb effect in any of my students. Spoon-feeding is always bad. It saves time. But, it is not good for both the teacher and the student.

Imagine a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon. If we help to break the cocoon, the butterfly can come out in a matter of seconds. But, the butterfly will be unable to fly forever. This is because the process of breaking out of the cocoon forces blood to its wings and caused its wings to have strength. When we 'help' to break the cocoon, what we are going to have is a crawling butterfly.

The same is for the student. If we spoon-feed the student, he can absorb very fast. But, he will be robbed of the skill to gather meaningful information for himself. He will have to rely on all his future teachers to spoon-feed him. If not, his mind cannot absorb. And it will cause him to be very reliant on ready information in his future endeavors. Not very good for the child, ya?

I think our job is not to fill up the child's mind, but creating the interest in him to acquire knowledge and application of that knowledge.

Think about it.

Don't 'help' the butterfly to break out of its cocoon.

(^_^)