Teaching to Think

I have had a lot of professors in the past, but only one has has actually succeeded in teaching a student how to think. That is, until today. Today, my English professor assigned us a task of writing an illustrative essay meditating on a single letter and how it relates to life. The point of the essay is to fulfill a more general thesis. In other words, we're supposed to have a focused mildly rambling essay centered on a letter and make sure that it all ties into the thesis. The entire class decides to protest to this new concept, but frankly, I really like it. It's rare that I am able to share a deep piece in this type of format and be academically praised for it. It's important not to just rely on school to educate, but to also rely on real world experiences, because with all the standardization of traditional schooling, no one will ever learn to think. I take this moment to recognize the professors who challenge their students to actually think.