Education is not to reform students or amuse them or to make them expert technicians. It is to unsettle their minds, widen their horizons, inflame their intellects, teach them to think straight, if possible.
— Robert M. Hutchins
I ran across this quote and the concept of “unsettle their minds” really struck me. I love that idea – unsettle the mind. When you think about it, isn’t that really the time we come up with the most creative ideas? When our brains are a little bit off their normal tracks?
I suppose the trick is to find ways we can “unsettle the mind” while still being able to function enough to think straight.
Tonight I was in a situation where we were brainstorming and I realized just how much I enjoy that. It’s interesting to put your mind on a particular path and branch out from there. I like the free form nature of brainstorming. I think it’s best when the mind is “unsettled.”
I will be thinking more about this in coming days. The Unsettled Mind. Sounds like a book title.
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