There is no obvious social motive for the acquirement of mere learning, there is no clear social gain in success thereat. As a parent, it scares me to death. He, and we, should be scared, because a child driven solely by feelings is like a vehicle out of control. If people disagree on a certain issue, they can discuss it logically, adhering to facts in order to determine who is correct. If they fail to resolve the issue, they can at least agree that it is rational to respect the rights of others rather than resort to violence.
Rational persuasion is thus the foundation of peaceful co-existence.
Instead, schools must institute a radical reversal of policy. Schools need to encourage individual, independent judgment and to provide the factual knowledge and the reasoning skills that a rational mind requires. To stop students from acting like animals, we must start regarding them as thinking human beings. Glenn Woiceshyn is a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute in Marina del Rey, California. Only Experts Contact Information Produced by the Ayn Rand Institute .