Keep Up the Challenge

Jacob and I were talking and he said that one of the reasons he was a cocky bastard is high school was because he was never challenged. He tutored most of his class mates and he'd sleep through school. Because of this, he said that he would like to home school his future kids because:

1. Kids can learn so much more than they do. They have spongy brains, and schools seem to underestimate them.
2. He wants to teach his kids a lot more than what average American schools teach, because when kids aren't challenged, they become arrogant.


I like both his reasons, but about the second point and going beyond the topic of home schooling, does the lack of a challenge breed arrogance? I believe it does.


One of the most humbling experiences is to realize that you don't really know that much. It's when you realize there is so much more to learn, an infinite amount of knowledge to gain. It's being told that you were wrong about something, and being taught the truth.

Of course, if only a few people are learning, there is still the problem of being more intelligent than the masses, and that obviously can breed arrogance too. So, a lack of challenge probably breeds arrogance, but being challenged won't necessarily take arrogance away.

Regardless, returning to Jacob's first point, this could apply to anyone. PEOPLE are capable of learning so much more than they do. People in general should always be challenged by others or themselves, by learning and learning and learning.

(Now you ask, what do you mean by learning, but I don't want to talk about it right now)