What they never taught us
“Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” Voltaire (1694-1778)
We learned in school and college that the teacher furnishes the question and the answer that will fit the question. If we want to continue to learn after our schooling is over what must we do?
Bootstrap is defined as: designed to function independently of outside direction—capable of using one internal function or process to control another.
For a 12 to 18 years period from the age of 6 to our mid twenties we have lived constantly in an educational system wherein we seldom if ever learned to function intellectually independent of outside direction.
How is it possible for such an individual to develop the internal processes (bootstrap) that allow him or her to become an independent, critically self-conscious, thinker?
When schooling is over the citizen who wishes to reach beyond naive common sense reality must develop the ability to generate questions. Questions result from a critical self-conscious intellect and depend upon the priorities of that intellect. Formal education has always furnished the learner with a question for consideration. The question asked determines the knowledge achieved and the understanding created.
The self-actuated learner must develop the ability to create questions. We have never before given any thought to questions; but now, if we wish to take a journey of discover, we must learn the most important aspect of any educational process. We must create questions that will guide our travels. After our school daze are over we can no longer depend upon education by coercion to guide us; we have the opportunity to develop self-actualizing self-learning driven by the ‘ecstasy of understanding’.
