Meerkats, Homeschooling and the Socialization Question
Just a curious news story, but if it is such an exciting thing to find Meerkats "homeschooling" why can't we be left in peace to do it as well? The article points out the difference between an animal learning by observation which is rather passive on the part of the adult, and learning by teaching in which the adult takes an active role, scaling instruction to meet the needs of the youngster.
"For example, if a chimpanzee infant sees his mother probing for termites using a stick and later finds the stick his mother used, tries it out himself and learns how to fish for ants, there is no element of teaching involved," [Alex Thornton] explained. MSNBCLikewise, it seems, if a mother drops her child off at daycare at six where he is shuttled to and from school and mom picks him up again at 6PM, there is little teaching going on. However, by observation, the young human learns quite a bit about his status in his parents' world.
Of course, evolution has to be brought into the discussion somewhere.
"A greater understanding of the evolution of teaching is essential if we are to further our knowledge of human cultural evolution and for us to examine the relations between culture in our own species and cultural behavior in other animals," Alex Thornton said in a statement. MSNBCJust out of curiousity, what "cultural behavior" do we observe in animals? I was surprised to find that there is not really one accepted definition of culture. It seems a rather intangible concept, but this one seems to generally reflect the norm among what I was able to find:
The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.Human work and thought. That means that animals cannot have it.
Interesting, at leat to me, is how modern the concept of culture even is. Until 1867, culture was viewed as a very intentional thing. At first, it dealt directly with the tilling of the land. In the 1500s it took on the sense of "cultivation through education." In 1805, we see it used to describe "the intellectual side of civilization," and in 1867, we finally see culture emerge as "collective customs and achievements of a people." That is when it suddenly became "socially transmitted" rather than considered, studied and adopted.
Other notable events of 1867:
Karl Marx publishes Das Kapital.
Paleontologist Edward Drinker Kope proposes an alternate mechanism driving evolution, besides natural selection.
Alfred Nobel patents dynamite.
Augustin Daly's play, Under the Gaslight appears, in which the heroine rescues the hero.
Congress creates the Department of Education.
It seems the time was ripe for the beginnings of the socialization question, also known as enculturation. In fact, the term "socialize" meaning "process of making social" is from 1840.
So, should humans teach their children through passive observation (socialization) or active teaching? In other words, do we want to cultivate their minds or enculturate them?
On a lighter note, The Carnival of Kid Comedy is up with a nice selection of kids being kids.
socialization, homeschooling, home school, culture, parenting
8 comments:
We have been watching the Animal Planet's, Meerkat Manor. While it is very entertaining to see the meerkat families in action and to see how their animal societies manage in the desert, the narrator personifies them all. "He does not have honorable intentions to the meerkat female..." That is only one of many comments that place feelings, thoughts, emotions even on the animals. It is so strange to me.
I think it may be part of the animals are just like humans mindset and certainly has its roots in evolutionary thinking. Beyond the concerns of that, it it just plain strange. When I was a child we watched animal shows and there was not this deeply developed emotional connection that is very evident in these.
I suppose it is too much to ask to have an animal show sans evolution anymore, unless of course you buy them from Answers in Genesis or the like ministry. They really have some wonderful materials, but they are limited too.
Thanks for a thoughtful post.
Warmly,
Kate
Unfortunately, our own "socialization" has been so engrained that we can hardly imagine a world without it. Sometimes my own children challenge me with their own practice of "cultivation", as you so aptly put it, when I am myself still slightly a slave to "enculturation", even though I am the "teacher", and they are the "students".
Sherry
Kate,
I've watched a little of Meerkat Manor. I didn't mind the personification too much because the intent of the show is to make this appear like a human soap opera. In some ways, I took it as a parody and found it rather amusing, but I definitely agree with you about this general tendency.
We have a few shows from National Geographic I'm really enjoying. So far, they only talk about the research and the human aspect of the researchers themselves (as opposed to their subjects). They certainly aren' Christian, but I haven't seen anything objectionable, either. I think a lot of these animal shows seem to stretch the subject matter to squeeze evolution in somewhere...anywhere. They know that the continual repetition will cause the information to eventually be absorbed without rational thought.
Sherry,
I definitely agree. There is a lot we have adopted without ever challenging or even really thinking about. It is good that your children are learning young to question!
I enjoyed reading this post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
-gena
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
Thanks for stopping by, Gena!
Yes, Dana, I don't mind it too much either as we do find the show and those animals to be rather entertaining. At the same time I think that every bit of that plays into the emotions of our children too and that is something I am aware of by their response to all animals--even the smallest of bugs! :+)
I do think it is important to separate in our children's minds the fact that they are set apart and made in God's image. These shows don't do that at all.
I really like your blog!
:+)
Kate
Thanks, Kate! And I agree about these shows not being particularly uplifting spiritually or intellectually. It is like sitting down to read Arthur books instead of "living books." I don't have a problem with Arthur and other books of that nature, but they really only are for entertainment. So long as we don't put anything more into them than that, I think we're ok.
But now we have a culture which emphasizes "edutainment." This makes learning entirely passive and unexamined. And brings parents plopping their children in front of Meerkat Manor thinking they are educating them. But there is no "cultivation" going on. It is just light entertainment.
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