'Loose Talk'
By Benjamin Benedict

Common Sense

When I was a young man (just yesterday, it seems) girls who went to Roman Catholic Schools were in great demand, and it wasn’t for their knowledge of the catechism, believe me.

We know a lot more today about indoctrination techniques and how effective they sometimes can be, not only when applied to religion, but to politics, business, consumerism, just about anything you care to name. ‘Sometimes’ is of course the operative word as these methods can horribly backfire, hence the popularity of young ladies with a Roman Catholic education. In truth, most children brought up in a faith school of one kind or another are likely to end up no better or worse for it, but it is undeniable that there can be extreme adherence to the principles taught, as well as extreme rejection.

Whether you like to call it indoctrination or not, the exclusive teaching of a particular faith is an undeniable attempt to influence and control. We are already living in such a controlled World that a well known British TV presenter, Noel Edmunds had cause to say, “From the time I get out of bed in the morning to when I go to sleep at night, I am bound to have broken the law in some way or other.” It is a lack of perspective that has led to this predicament; one law piled on top of another without regard to those that exist already.

Now, if by ‘Faith Schools’ we meant schools that lay particular emphasis on Human Faith in all it’s forms, with lectures from Christians, Rabbis, Sheiks, Shaman, Buddhists, Ayatollahs, Agnostics (who must also have faith in their belief), Shinto’s, Hindus and the rest, that would be a different story. That surely is part of what we term ‘a broad-based education’.

There is nothing to beat the wider perspective on life that understanding different points of view can offer. One of the characteristics of contemporary education is to push inexorably for more and more specialisation. This specialist tendency has brought great benefits over the past one hundred and fifty odd years, but at what personal cost and at the expense of exploring how many blind alleys which could have been avoided with more of an overview?

The story of Crick and Watson and the discovery of the structure of DNA is a case in point. These two men looked at the research that those who had spent longer and were arguably more advanced in their thinking on the subject. By considering the overall picture, it gradually became clear to them what the structure of DNA was, while this insight still eluded those who had more in-depth knowledge and experience.

People who have been abroad for some length of time also perceive an advantage over their peers when they return. Their knowledge of other ways that things can work has been expanded. They can think ‘out of the box’, if you like.

This stepping back to look at the overall picture, has a lot to do with what we call ‘common sense’, and the more we focus in, the more likely we are to lose this vital perspective. It is essential that we don’t get lost in the detail, but this is what is happening now, more than ever as Noel Edmunds statement suggests.

A little learnin’ can be a dangerous thing as the song says, but a lot of only one kind can be fatal.

             

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