We have thousands of years of accumulated genius; trying to “re-discover” it is like trying to reinvent the microchip with a rock.

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The idea that students should “discover” everything for themselves is a massive waste of human potential.

We have thousands of years of accumulated genius. Entire civilizations of thought compressed into teachable structures.

The point of instruction is that you can inherit what took other people lifetimes to figure out. Trying to rediscover it all like trying to reinvent the microchip with a rock.

Yes, students need active problem-solving. Yes, they need to be challenged. But there is a huge difference between being pushed to internalize a well-scaffolded idea versus being abandoned to “discover” the idea with no map.

Good teaching lets you climb on humanity’s accumulated scaffolding instead of crawling around at ground level pretending confusion is depth.

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