Last month we reviewed Jonathan Haidt’s powerful book, The Anxious Generation. Haidt encourages parents to avoid giving children smartphones until high school and prohibit social media until age sixteen. He also advocates for phone-free schools and increased unsupervised play to build independence. In Haidt’s earlier book, The Coddling of the American Mind, co-authored by Greg Lukianoff, he addresses “Three Great Untruths” that define our culture:
- The Untruth of Fragility: What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker.
- The Untruth of Emotional Reasoning: Always trust your feelings.
- The Untruth of Us Versus Them: Life is a battle between good people and evil people.
According to the authors, three criteria qualify these as untruths:
- They contradict ancient wisdom
- They contradict modern psychological research on well-being
- They harm the individuals and communities who embrace the ideas
That last point is powerful: these lies are destructive. So why are they so pervasive and accepted? One key reason is education. Research indicates that particularly in secular higher education, there is very little viewpoint diversity in the faculty, leading to a variety of problems: college students have little or no exposure to professors of half of the political spectrum, and what is discussed is heavily shifted toward liberal views antithetical to the Christian worldview. Students are taught only one way to think, as was wonderfully confirmed by the untenable defense of several Ivy League Presidents for refusing to label antisemitism as an objective wrong.
Which brings us to the beauty of classical, Christian education. Our desire is to explore multiple perspectives and analyze them from a distinctive, biblical framework. It might be Machiavelli’s view of power, Islam’s view of the good life, or the modern view of the Black Lives Matter movement. In all of it students learn to explore areas of controversy and defend a biblical view with wisdom and eloquence.
How can we raise wiser children who do not fall prey to the Great Untruths of the day? Below are several principles from the book, with additional added principles.
Which brings us to the beauty of classical, Christian education. Our desire is to explore multiple perspectives and analyze them from a distinctive, biblical framework. It might be Machiavelli’s view of power, Islam’s view of the good life, or the modern view of the Black Lives Matter movement. In all of it students learn to explore areas of controversy and defend a biblical view with wisdom and eloquence.
How can we raise wiser children who do not fall prey to the Great Untruths of the day? Below are several principles from the book, with additional added principles.
- Give people the benefit of the doubt and use the principle of charity – Also known as “Assume the best,” the principle of charity says that one should interpret other people’s statements in their best, most reasonable form, not in the worst or most offensive way possible.
- Practice the virtue of intellectual humility – when we recognize that our own reasoning can be flawed and prone to bias, it helps us listen more attentively and communicates to others that we may not always have the answers.
- Use technology purposely – The research on phone usage and social media is incontrovertible. Carte blanche access for students under the age of sixteen creates a plethora of challenges easily avoided if parents proactively formulate a plan for cell phone usage and communicate the reasons for the strategy to their children.
- Be mindful of where your child attends college – As wise as high school graduates may seem, they remain in formative years where they are shaped mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and academically. Parents are encouraged to find a school that fits within the discipleship framework that offers wise professors and a circle of friends that will encourage them in the faith.
