Excerpt from:
Bakewell, Sarah. (2010). How to Live: Or, A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer. New York: Other Press.
p.58
He [Montaigne] fulminates against
the brutal methods of most schools.
“Away with violence and compulsion!”
If you enter a school in lesson time, he says, “you hear nothing but cries,
both from tortured boys and from masters drunk with rage.” All this achieves is to put children off
learning for life.
Often, books need not be used at
all. One learns dancing by dancing; one
learns to play the
lute by playing the lute. The same is true of thinking, and indeed of living. Every experience can be a learning opportunity: “a page’s prank, a servant’s blunder, a remark at table.” The child should learn to question everything: to “pass everything through a sieve and lodge nothing in his head on mere authority and trust.” Traveling is useful; so is socializing, which teaches the child to be open to others and to adapt to anyone he finds around him. Eccentricities should be ironed out early, because they make it difficult to get on with others. “I have seen men flee from the smell of apples more than from harquebus fire, others take fright at a mouse, others throw up at the sight of cream, and others at the plumping of a feather bed.” All this stands in the way of good relationships and of good living. It can be avoided, for young human beings are malleable.
lute by playing the lute. The same is true of thinking, and indeed of living. Every experience can be a learning opportunity: “a page’s prank, a servant’s blunder, a remark at table.” The child should learn to question everything: to “pass everything through a sieve and lodge nothing in his head on mere authority and trust.” Traveling is useful; so is socializing, which teaches the child to be open to others and to adapt to anyone he finds around him. Eccentricities should be ironed out early, because they make it difficult to get on with others. “I have seen men flee from the smell of apples more than from harquebus fire, others take fright at a mouse, others throw up at the sight of cream, and others at the plumping of a feather bed.” All this stands in the way of good relationships and of good living. It can be avoided, for young human beings are malleable.
Or at least, they are malleable up
to a point. Montaigne soon changes
tack. Whatever you do, he says, you
cannot really change inborn disposition.
You can guide it or train it, but not get rid of it. In another essay he wrote, “There is no one
who, if he listens to himself, does not discover in himself a pattern all his
own, a ruling pattern, which struggles against education.”
I think that Montaige point is that there is different ways of learning. For example reading some stuff out of a book or certain thing teachers teach are not going to be useful in the real world.
ReplyDeleteI found this expert thought-provoking. Most of my time here I have found to be reading long articles and essays so reading this short, but sweet expert to be quite refreshing. Anyway, this expert rings the bell of truth within me for a few reasons. The part that really stuck with me was "Often, books need not be used at all. One learns dancing by dancing; one learns to play the lute by playing the lute. The same is true of thinking, and indeed of living" along with "Traveling is useful; so is socializing, which teaches the child to be open to others and to adapt to anyone he finds around him". Most of the things that I have learned and remember are things I investigated myself. My career and my skills were things I mastered myself. Few things i remember from the book though I am fond of learning things through books I'm willing to read myself. To summarize, the things I find important are things that I've learned myself. The second quote I find true since I have lacked in the socialization area of life for some time. I dread talking to another being in fear of making myself appear a fool. I am awkward and it is hard for me to find words to make conversation. I haven't seen school as a culprit of my weakness, but now I have a new view toward my shortcoming. I am still trying to improve in little ways each day; it hasn't been an easy task for me, but it is a skill that I want to improve upon.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Montaigne is teaching us there’s different ways of learning because of our generation how we were taught through books & technology.
ReplyDeletei feel montaigne is saying that teaching doesnt always have to be coming from a hard book sometimes you can learn through experiencing things your self and having fun with it and not taking it serious because how will you ever get a lesson out of that if you cant experience it
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ReplyDeleteMontaigne is saying how a child can learn in different ways also that a child should be asking questions to something they dont understand
ReplyDeleteI think that Montaigne presents his interests very clearly and that's what it's about. Something stuck out to me that made me think; "One learns dancing by dancing; one learns to play the
ReplyDeletelute by playing the lute. " I realized, one doesn't just start dancing to learn, they have to have a passion or interest in dancing as well. One doesn't just play a flute to learn how to play, they need to be interested in everything 'flute-related'. So really, it's not the system that helps you learn, it's really if you want to learn at all.
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ReplyDeleteWhat Montaigne was trying to explain to us is that everybody has their own method of learning we should make available those methods instead of just book work all the time
DeleteI believe that montaigne is trying to explain how there are many ways to learn in the world. While others may say that teaching them is the most proper way of learning.
ReplyDeleteMontaigne tells us that books and teaching are similar but that still does not mean that you cant change that. over the years the world has changed a lot and with that so have the people that live in it, the way they think and there beliefs also change. What I want to point out is that one should not just keep on doing the same thing teaching for example has not really changed and I think reading is the same as well the only things that change is the where and how but not much of the what they teach.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Montaigne is trying to show us that there are many ways of learning whether it’s from straight out of a book, technology wise etc. There are many ways of understanding.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Montaigne was trying to explain that there is more ways to teach things inside a class room than just the old fashioned way and also that everyone thinks differently so the classroom should teach more than just one way.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Montaigne was trying to tell us there are many ways to teach inside a classroom and there are many minds trying to understand his point but he tries to make it clear to everyone in a way that they all understand
ReplyDeleteYou can learn by doing it. Book are not the only recourse you can learn from.
ReplyDeleteI think that Montaigne is saying that people can learn by doing. He also talked about different ways of learning and books aren’t always the only resource you can use to learn.
ReplyDeleteI feel like reading about it makes sense because it’s true what it says learning new things in anyway can be good for an open mind.
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