Einstein's Quote is not a Teaching Manual
It's just a cute abstraction.
Am I going to argue with what Einstein said about imagination?
Nope.
My argument is not about which one is more important: imagination or knowledge. Far from it.
My argument is: without knowledge, you cannot imagine.
Try it: try to imagine about something that you have no knowledge about.1
Of course, we all want our students to:
think like a scientist
think like a researcher
think like an environmentalist
think like an inter-disciplinarian
think like a designer
think like a problem solver
Unfortunately, there's not short cut around the "domain" knowledge.
The pedagogical repercussion of Einstein's quote is massive. This has led, in many teachers, edu leaders and even parents, to the beliefs like:
knowledge is not important
knowledge is already out there
knowledge is in the internet/google
therefore,
don't focus on teaching "what", focus on teaching "how"
don't teach students to think inside the box, teach them to think outside the box
and even, don't teach the subject, teach the students
Some teachers know that this is just a fluffy idea. Without the foundational knowledge and skills, one cannot aim for all the special skills like creativity and critical thinking. Let alone the skill of imagination (if you call that a skill).
Unfortunately to the peril of learning, most teachers are uncritical of these ideas. They do have positive intentions but they end up propagating these unhelpful ideas in teaching and learning.
Someone in my facebook network commented this:
“Maybe Einstein meant .. just don't stop after getting knowledge and start imagining what is possible with the knowledge u have!! What is the use of knowledge if it can't be used for imagining a better world?”
Again, I want to point out that my disagreement is not about “what is possible or not without imagination”. Of course, imagination (or any creative or inquiry thinking) is important. Super important.
My disagreement is with a special brand of educators/institutions that do not focusing on knowledge building part of teaching, while they keep talking about creativity/critical thinking in a very fluffy and ideological way.
Remember, intention is not instruction. Quote is not methodology. Philosophy is not pedagogy.
P.S. This post is not about education.
Relevant post:
I run an exercise during workshops and classes. It’s about imagining an alien and drawing it. Almost everyone comes up with the almost similar figure of an alien. (Please guess the figure.)