The Learning that Kills the Mind

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The Bible says in the last days, man shall be “ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (II Timothy 3:7). Our brains and in turn our minds are in a constant state of change. Much of that which we learn, however, has to be moderated or unlearned, as there is much learning that actually takes away from our brains and in turn our minds. Our minds should not only be concerned with just learning but with our total cognition to the Truth.

In our computer, Internet, digital, and tweeter age, rote memorization is no longer a necessary part of education. And in this we are finding that the concentration for contemplative learning is very much suffering. In an article for The Atlantic (July-August, 2008) Nicholas Carr brings out that students and most all in our age seem to have a growing difficulty in deep reading. Like so many others, he finds that “deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.” He says, “When it comes to reading more than a few minutes, or even moments, of information, your mind will often begin to wander.” In an another article, “Five Big Ways The Internet is Changing our Brain,“ (OnLine College.org) it is brought out that “scientists have begun to note that the Internet has not only served to fulfill our brains’ curiosities, but also rewired them.”

The scriptures well says, “For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7) This thinking in the heart is the same as the mind. With the attacks on the spiritual content in our academic world—spiritual content, which covers discernment, discipline, and moral values, our youth are learning with rewired minds from past generations to now discount or resist the values once considered divinely given. Maybe this so called “rewiring” is one reason of many reasons our youth so often seem to lack spiritual moorings! This is a type of learning that ultimately kills the mind.

When the spiritual avenue of learning is disconnected there is a type of learning that can kill the mind. Albert Einstein addressing learning said: “Never regard study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later work belongs.” (Speakers Sourcebook II, Glenn Van Ekeren—p. 232) This spiritual attitude, which is certainly in accord with the Judeo-Christian mindset and values that Einstein was suggesting have been greatly curtailed in contemporary American public schooling. Much of it relates to the behavioral objects which are basic to public education that declare that only learning that is measurable is real learning. And this creates an atmosphere that really deflates true learning and in fact actually helps to kill the spiritual dimensions to education.

It has been observed as well in Five Ways The Internet is Changing our Brain, that: “Some experts believe that memorization is critical to creativity.” True creativity takes work and discipline. William Klemm, a neuroscience professor at Texas A&M University insists that “Creativity comes from a mind that knows, and remembers, a lot.” Although creativity seems to have grown with the use of technology, it is certainly being done in new and different ways. And Klemm’s assertion that calls for creative thinking and brainstorming born out of memorized knowledge, while so much now is stored on line. The mind works on things continually, not just when the buttons are pushed!

However, have you ever observed a clerk in a store when the computer went out, how they were so often paralyzed? They were totally dependent on the machine and didn’t even have the simple creativity or ability to take a pencil and paper and work out the mathematics needed for the situation. The scripture, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee,” (Psalm 119:11) is nonsense to electronic learning, but having God’s Word basic in our lives enables us to think and seek God’s direction over all problems in life. And we should see it as sin when we fail to connect to this Heavenly Computer!

The creativity of the human mind, however, I feel very much is evidenced by the fact we are created in the image of God, and our inability to handle our creativity is the result of our total depravity, the fact we are all out of tune with God because of sin. The Internet, the computer, and digital learning are invaluable to contemporary education, when used rightly, as it has opened a new day with endless opportunities for the learning process. But there is something wrong in that what is a valuable asset can become a detriment when the spiritual element is subtracted from it.

Tests at Stanford University indicate that multitaskers, such as heavy Internet users, often tend to overlook older, valuable information, and instead choose to seek out new information ignoring the basic essences behind it all. In this respect Clifford Nass of Stanford observes, “We’ve got a large and growing group of people who think the slightest hint that something interesting might be going on is like catnip. They can’t ignore it.” Instead of focusing on important tasks, or putting information to good use, we’re distracted by incoming email.” (OnLine College.org) The use of Tweeter is a prime example of this. The focus of concentration is lost, and every fad takes precedence.

One of the great problems in the classrooms presently is the use of Tweeter by so many of our students. It has been observed that, “Spurred by the unlimited texting plans offered by carriers like AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless, American teenagers sent and received an average of 2,272 text message per month in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Nielsen Company — almost eighty messages a day, more than double the average of a year earlier. (New York Times—April 21,2012) Think of the continual distraction to concentration, plus all the other negative factors such as cheating, base communication, and the ultimately valueless communication with the learning to be digital. This definitely can be a form of learning that kills the mind’s ability to concentrate and positively learn.

Furthermore, the phenomenon of texting is beginning to worry physicians and psychologists, who say it is leading to anxiety, distraction in school, falling grades, repetitive stress injury and sleep deprivation. Dr. Martin Joffe, a pediatrician in Greenbrae, California surveyed students at two local high schools and said he found that many were routinely sending hundreds of texts every day. Sherry Turkle, a psychologist and director of the Initiative on Technology and Self at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has studied texting among teenagers in the Boston area for three years, and has said it might be causing a shift in the way adolescents develop. (New York Times—April 21, 2012)

All learning is not good. The computer, Internet, digital, and Tweeter age is here, and technical objects in themselves are neither good nor bad. These forms of electronic learning can be useful, but they all can be used wrongfully. What ultimately matters is the human minds that relate to or use them. It is important to be aware of this and to take care to be sure our minds are continually in the hands of God. Ephesians 5:15 says, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,”

May God give wisdom to Christian educators, Christian parents, and Christian young people to not be caught up in any form of learning that ultimately kills their minds.

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by Joe Renfro, Ed.D., Educational Columnist, Radio Evangelist, Retired Teacher and Pastor, 5931 West Avenue, Lavonia, Georgia 30553, 706-356-4173, joerenfro@windstream.net

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