Education vs. Information

[Hank Green]

Sometimes people will leave comments on my videos saying things like "I learn so much more from you than I do in school."

For any given three minute period, I imagine that that may be correct. But overall, it's either untrue, or yr doin it wrong. Let's be clear here, John and I get to pick and choose the most fascinating things out there: What it means when a guy has a rod shoot through his brain, how giraffe sex is terrifying, the very beginning of subjects (which are all totally interesting at first, but then just get more boring and complicated the deeper you go.)

We are providing information, trivia, almost. And trivia is called trivia because it is trivial. It's nice to have it in your brain, but it isn't "education."

Education happens when a series of pieces of information enters your brain giving you a complete (or at least, more complete) understanding of a topic. Whether that topic is the function of mitochondria, or the linguistic structure of sentences. And getting a full understanding of those things doesn't happen in three minutes, and it's extremely difficult to make entertaining. So, when you say "Hank, you should be my teacher" I'm not sure if that's true.

I've never taken on the kinds of challenges that your teachers take on every day. I've never tried to make something truly boring interesting. I've never tried to create a full picture of some complicated yet important bit of the world in other people's brains.

But I want to try. So I think, in the next week or so, both John and I are going to attempt to cover some topics that would normally be taught in either high school or early college. These are going to be done in not just one, but several videos, because you simply can't do it in one video.

[J. Celestino]

Being a teacher myself (MAEd) I find your endeavor very interesting as well as a challenge which can have real ramifications toward educational theory. While distance learning is nothing new, neither is asynchronous learning for that matter, what does excite me is the possibility for interaction on a near broadcast scale. It's long been argued that for effective educational techniques to be employed in a distance learning environment the student/teacher ratio must be small, in order to counter act the negative effects the asynchronous nature of the classroom has on the socratic method.

However, I think education can be effective on this near broadcast scale and still create a hot bed of discussion and inquiry if the Initiate/Teacher is not the only subject matter expert in the discussion. So lets say you do a lecture on the function of mitochondria, then in the comments and video responses others with similar expertise bring about more insight and more importantly more inquiry so that others that are less knowledgable gain further information or enough curiosity to seek out answers and correlation's on their own. I think this would be more effective if some nerdfighters who are willing to help guide the discussion are prepped ahead of time by the Initiate so that a common goal can be reached. And by guide, I simply mean keeping the discussion from turning into giraffe sex when it's about mitochondria. Not that discussions shouldn't evolve passed there Initiate but they shouldn't necessarily go off the rails.

I know people hate surveys but you should consider making this a small research project in education. It could very well be publishable. Especially in the humanities where the idea of online and distance education is considered laughable. Do a google search for an online Tech degree compared to an online English degree for example. The difference in the results is staggering. I don't want to get into the debate of online education vs campus education cause I think thats counter productive. I think the key is that it is possible and once we really understand the methodology for doing it effectively, we could bring about real change in distance education and possibly traditional education as well.

[Trogdorable]

I know so many people who go to school and sit bored and disconnected because they "already know everything" or the teachers aren't giving them anything "new" but it is hard for a teacher, I think, because these kids don't give them feedback and don't really care or try. If kids aren't showing the teacher they know their stuff, that's when the teacher will keep teaching the same thing. If kids show they are eager to learn then everyone can make some progress. I find it so distressing that I read so many people are unafraid and even eager to acknowledge their hunger for learning in youtube comments, but afraid to raise their hand or spend a moment after class with their teachers. Just because someone is a student does not mean they can't stand up and at least attempt to take charge of their education.

That said, I know of few people who changed their attitude towards school or teachers before graduating, so hopefully those stubborn ones will learn some things from your videos since they are often unwilling to take an active role in their schoolroom education.

[Christina]

I apologize in advance for this, as it's a bit long winded.

I agree with your sentiment, but I think the description that you gave of education is actually one of "trivia." This might just be me being picky about definitions, but I've always viewed education as something more than information which aides in understanding. I think education is crisis. That is to say that in order to be truly educated, or acquire any kind of wisdom, one has to return to the trivia - the current worldview or learning - "unlearn" it, understand it differently, and work through the crisis and conflict that results. If there is no crisis, no conflict, and no self-doubt and questioning, there can be no education. If there could be education without this, then people wouldn't change their ideas or understandings at all.

In any case, I agree that education cannot happen from receiving the three minutes worth of facts that you have to offer, no matter how insightful. This is especially the case when those people that watch aren't questioning your videos, but are your like-minded fans that tend to agree with you on most things. I do think, however, that the idea of covering more advanced topics is a noble one, and I'm really interested to see how you two do it.

[emmaleeanne]

If I may give the point of view of someone who was a student not long ago and is now a teacher (of undergraduate nursing), I have to say I understand where you're coming from with that. However, I can also understand where some of the commenters are coming from. I know for a fact I passed a certain 8th grade Social Studies test because of School House Rock's "Shot Heard Round the World" (the Ween cover... freakin' rocks!) and I can see how some of your videos (and songs specifically) can help students with those basic, rote memorization situations. For a lot of subjects, sciences especially, that rote memorization lays the foundation for further concepts to be introduced and analysis and synthesis of that information to take place. How could my nursing students understand the pathophysiology of a disease without having memorized the anatomy associated with it?

Don't sell yourself short. :) However, I really really look forward to what you have in store!!

[dr0stan]

Right you are, BUT...
I had my share of teachers and professors in high school and college, and there is one thing to be said about them : some have a way to teach things, to make knowledge available and interesting, even if the subject is boring at first, and there is those who just spit facts at you, or read in a monotonous voice hours of uninteresting pre-swallowed speech about something that would have interested you but now fail at it or even bore you to death, and trough it to zombification...

What I think they mean saying "you should be my teacher" is (I think) "it seems to me you would be part of the first class of teacher whereas my teachers are definitively of the second sort"

Now I can't be more impatient to see you take on academic subject...

Nonetheless I wish to say to all the high-schoolers or early college student to do the difficult part : learn from everyone even the awefull teacher got something for you, somewhere in the middle of those horrendously insipid rant of a bad teacher is the knowledge you need to achieve your dreams and no-one else will give it to you... so maybe this bad teacher isn't that bad after all...

Never forget that no mater how bad at it the teacher is always teaching, you in the other hand may not be learning...

Obviously it is always better to have great teachers it make things easier, but sometimes the one you thought bad, once you start to interest yourself (don't wait to get interested...) isn't that bad at all.

[Nicole D. Wilson]

Great points. Often after watching vlog brother videos, I feel as if I have learned something. It is more than just the entertainment value that keeps me interested but I believe the passion that each of you has for the information you are vlogging about. The trivial videos plant seeds of query into my mind. I then go seek out more information. Or other times an explanation of a topic can give me that "Ah ah!" moment. When all the pieces of the puzzled fit together and a true understanding of a subject emerges. (Wish at the moment I could think of a specific example to give but alas it is Friday afternoon and I've been at work since 6:00 AM.) I look forward to your extended topics, and the enthusiasm for the knowledge that will make for an enjoyable, yet knowledgeable experience.

[Patrick E. Fleming]

Education isn't about facts. Education is about learning how to think about facts and learning how to create new ideas. Toward that end, the facts one teaches are really only relevant as as educational tool within the context of the thoughts they inspire. And more to the point, they are only relevant in that they give the thought inspiration process a concrete foundation.

[Rosanna]

I think the difference might be the you will actually try and make it interesting. There are a surprising amount of teachers who really couldn't care less if their class is bored to tears. Not all teachers obviously, some are really great, but not all.

[joshua]

hank: you = U , are = R , Your = UR , year = yr so yea.. my 2 cents, other than that, the only reason i am so stuck on VB is b/c i actually learn sumthin evytime i watch. u should DEF DO IT YES. If all you talked about was popculture like WRJ, i wouldnt watch you. Thumbs up to hank (and john2)

[Madeline]

Really interesting post, Hank! I think I have to agree with Amanda and say that the trivia provided by you and John often provokes an interest for me to learn more. I've been blessed to grow up in a family full of teachers and I have learned to embrace learning in all kinds of environments. My grandfather, who was a college math professor, always said, "School doesn't give you an education; it gives you the means to get an education." I think a lot of what you and John do is demonstrate how many different ways you can find things to learn about and also how you can go about the learning process. So thank you for that, because it's a very valuable tool! Hopefully you're inspiring some kids who would normally sit in the back of the room and not pay attention because they're "bored" to seek new ways of making their own education interesting and relevant.