Monday Morning Musings
Volume XXIV, Number 22 (Issue 1173 ) June 1, 2026
The Body of Knowledge
It is estimated that the sum of all human knowledge is doubling every year and that the rate of growth in that store is exponential. The result is there is simply too much information for any lone individual to be exposed to in their lifetime. We should therefore be thankful for AI as well as search tools like Google and Wikipedia – issues with the content and content creation on Wikipedia notwithstanding. Still, I find it troubling that some of what I learned in school is seldom taught today if it is taught at all.
This issue was brought vividly to mind on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend at a brunch where we were celebrating that morning’s baptism of our newest granddaughter. The situation as it unfolded was as follows: Phoebe, all of nine months old, was sitting on my lap just enjoying life when a small stuffed lamb was presented to her (a gift from her Godmother). As she cuddled it, I began to recite a poem I knew by heart, “The Lamb,” by English poet, William Blake (Cir. 1789). Those lines began with:
“Little lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life and bid thee feed…”
Phoebe’s Mom, our youngest daughter, was sitting next to me and heard my recital of the opening of The Lamb, causing her to ask, “Dad, what is that you are saying?” I explained it was a poem that I learned in a high school English class and that its author, Willaim Blake, was one of my favorite poets. I proceeded to tell her the period in which it was written and how I came to know it while I Googled the text for her to read. At this point she stated she was unfamiliar with both poem and author.
This question/statement came from a girl who graduated with honors from a well-respected public high school and who had received multiple college scholarship offers. Yet, she knew not Blake or his works. I was immediately troubled by what I suddenly deemed to be a sizable void in her secondary and college educations. After all, I was exposed to many of Blake’s and his contemporaries’ works when I was in school so why not Anna and her classmates? However, as I reflected on my initial line of thinking it occurred to me that she and I were separated in school by three plus decades. In those intervening years, the sum total of the body of knowledge had been increasing at an incredible rate. Furthermore, the hours in the day and classroom had not increased in proportion. Add to that the things educators are now expected to do and teach – per the various state legislatures – that were not part of my schooling and there simply is not time or reason for educational content to stand still. Thus, how could someone from Gen Y (and now Gen Z and soon to be Gen Alpha) be expected to have their lesson plans include exactly that which had been taught to those of us who are of the Boomer generation?
If you accept that knowledge is doubling annually and that the rate of growth in that knowledge base in increasing exponentially, it is silly to think today’s young people are going to hear, see/read, and do the same things that prior generations learned. Following that logic, if those who are responsible for building and delivering today’s curriculum are on top of their game, then students are being equipped with the things their generation needs to know as they progress through school and enter the workforce. Better still, if things are progressing as should be, current and future generations will be taught and given the tools and skills they will require to access, understand, and apply (leverage) that which they will need to know to be successful when their time comes.
So, while what I am saying may be controversial or perhaps offensive to some, we cannot, must not, revert to teaching only what was taught to my generation as if nothing has changed. Instead, we must ensure that current and future generations are equipped with what the new world will require of them. That is not to say I am giving a free pass for what poses as good written and verbal communication skills today. Personally, I am appalled at the current state of what communication looks and sounds like, but that is a topic for another day. Meanwhile, I will reiterate that today’s educational content must be “age” appropriate (double entendre intended).
Soli Deo Gloria
“The present form of this world is passing away.” 1 Corinthians 7:31
J. Keith Hughey
Mobile: (210) 260-0955
E-mail: keith@jkeithhughey.com
Website: www.jkeithhughey.com
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