There is an old saying that goes “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”  This ancient proverb is more than an overused quote; it is a model of life that should be applied to education.

Symbolically, the fish is knowledge and the man is the student. Here the man wants to eat, and this should be the first notion to consider: students want to learn. Like the hungry man, students are hungry for knowledge. People need knowledge to survive and without it they will starve. However, like personal taste, not everyone likes fish. Knowledge should be taught to the people who want it and should not be forced into the minds of people who have other interests.

One example of this is seen in Richard Feynman’s book “Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman.” In this book, Feynman describes a time when he is invited to give a lecture to a small physics club. Upon hearing that this famous Nobel Prize winner was coming however, the school mandated that every student attend the lecture. Feynman expressed how this was the wrong approach. Students should have choices in what they learn and should not be motivated by anything other than their own interest.

An ideal school is able to provide for everyone’s interest. Motivation makes students want more and this is what can make school fun and learning efficient. Though it is impossible to provide everything a student wants to learn, it is important to give them choices. One change to the current CUNY system for example might be to eliminate GERs. Perhaps instead of insisting for students to learn from a wide variety of fields, it should be enforced that students take a minimum number of credits per semester. In this way, students are able to take what they want without restrictions.

Returning back to the proverb, the second notion to consider is that schools should teach students how to learn. Like the proverb, feeding knowledge to students will only bring them so far and so it is essential that student’s learn how to find information on their own. Such a class however should be taught with the student’s focus in mind. For example if a class were to teach students how to research, then the students should be applying research techniques to what they have interest in.

Perhaps it is too idealistic to have school depend on student motivation alone. Not everyone knows what they like as they grow up and often students don’t know what they will like if they have not tried it. Perhaps a class dedicated to this type of student would also be useful. This class would introduce students to a wide variety of topics and would be optional for those who have found their field of interest.

Considering that school should be centered on student motivation, a typical curriculum should not have a limit or requirement for graduation. Students in an ideal college should first be introduced to Everything 101, a class designed to engage students on the fascinating topics that are of interest. This class should be offered every semester and students should be allowed to retake it if they are unable to find something that interests them. Another class that should be offered is Research 101. This class would be designed to help students find information on what they like. Techniques on searching the web and using other resources should be taught in this class.  The other classes in a student’s career should be optional. If the student feels adequately prepared to contribute to society, then he or she can graduate.  Of course, if he or she cannot contribute, then they are free to come back and continue learning.

School works best for those who have a goal in mind. If a student is forced to learn, it wastes an institution’s resources that can be better used on students who want it.