Dan Meyer on Independent Thought and Analysation

Adrienne Rich understood the necessity of independent thought when she explained
that,“Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and
naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence,
grappling with hard work.” By doing so, she promulgated that developing one’s ability to
think individually, producing a unique, unaltered opinion, and performing one’s own
individual analysation is crucial to the ability to learn and live independently.

Dan Meyer, a progressive high school math

teacher in New York, shares this
prioritization of individual thought and
analysation. In his daily classes he leads an
exercise in which the students pose their
own distinctive questions, understanding
that, “instead of telling them what matters,
they need to decide what matters.” In his
book Better Living Through Criticism, A.O.
Scott conveys the importance of research
and analysation when he writes:

“Might does not make right; the categorical imperative does. Believing something
does not make it true; proving it within the light f reason does. ‘Because I said so’ is
a losing argument, if indeed it counts as an argument at all.”

The necessity of independent thought is, however, often understated, and those practicing it
are frequently penalized for their actions. Individuality is often perceived as disobedience,
especially when exhibited by students, and is swiftly disciplined, thereby discouraging
creativity, inquiry, and individual analysation from a young age. Joshua Aronson explains
that, “fear is the enemy of curiosity.”

Warren Berger articulates the importance of individual perception in

relation to art when he writes, “it was art because it moved them” in
relation to Maria Abromovic’s piece The Artists is Present. The
quality of this exhibit – in which Abramovic sits and stares into the
eyes of her onlookers – is determined by the perception of the
spectators, not by an authority figure declaring its value. The answer
to the archaic question ‘what makes art art’ is unique to each
individual who inquires it and is based upon their own perception of
art.
Living in an modern society – one in which automation continuously appropriates middle
and lower class jobs – creativity, curiosity and independent thought are more crucial to
success than ever before. The skillsets of truck drivers, cashiers and accountants can be
easily replicated by automation, but the ability to inquire,
create and develope new ideas, and critique are distinctive
to humans. George Carlin urges that parents do not simply,
“teach [their] children to read. Reach them to question
what they read. Teach them to question everything.” To
wholeheartedly accept the instruction of authority is to
forfeit one’s right to independence, criticism and curiosity,
thereby diminishing one’s chance at employment in this
modernizing workforce. Warren Berger explains how the
education system discourages this independent thought, despite the growing need for it in
modern society:

“Logically, as we move from an industrial society to more of an entrepreneurial one,

it makes sense that we would want to trade in the factory/obedience model of
schooling for more of a questioning model. But as the world changed and the
workplace changed with it, the old educational model hasn’t evolved much – and for
the most part hasn’t adapted to the modern economy’s need for more creative,
independent-thinking ‘workers.’”

Dan Meyer, now in his sixties, continues to educate the next generation and has gone on to
share his progressive teaching methods on TEDx. By transferring the ownership of
questions from the teacher to the student, Dan Meyer has taught yet another crucial lesson to
young American minds: criticism. As a group, the students must practice decision making
by selecting the questions which they deem most important to the topic at hand and
discarding the rest. By doing so, they learn to value the necessary information without
wasting time trying to decipher the rest; the ability to filter through superfluous data is
essential in an age where an infinite amount of it is available in one click of a button.
Additionally, the ability to make independent decisions is crucial to surviving in this
modern world, and A.O. Scott explains that, “choosing is the primal and inevitable mistake
of criticism, the gesture that calls it into being.”

Deborah Meier, a progressive educator and the founder of the small schools movement, is a
propagator of independent thought and has devoted her life to converting the curriculum of
the modern school system from brainless memorization to individual thought, inquiry and
creativity. By understanding the importance of independent thought from a young age,
students are likely to grow up with an evolved sense of confidence and individuality,
thereby empowering them to make inquiries, propose new ideas and question authority. In
order to achieve this heightened sense of individuality, Meier explains that:

“Instead of just pushing information at kids, schools needed to teach them how to
make sense of what they were
being told so they would know
what to make of it and what to do
with it.”

This untrammeled ability to not only

understand new information but also ask
one’s self why this information is true,
necessary and relevant is the basis of
independent thought. Independent thought
is crucial to future generations and their
ability to continue innovating to solve the
world’s modern crises. The capability to ask ‘why’ is essential in the modern struggle of
wading through, dissecting and understanding the profusion of information that is
encountered on a daily basis through the media and on the internet.