School-aged people of the world, please ignore Jaden Smith's social media ravings now and forever more. The outspoken offspring of Will Smith, Justin Bieber cohort, and harem pants enthusiast is using his powers of fame and Twitter to take down education. Avert your eyes, ye impressionable youth!
That is of course, most people's immediate reaction to the "wisdom" being spouted on the young Smith's Twitter feed, but what if Smith isn't completely insane? What if he's just as astute follower of some of the world's greatest minds? What if his choice of friends and his life as a professional famous person's kid have simply doomed him to being dismissed as another Hollywood twit? What if all these ranting 140-character gems are actually steeped in true wisdom?
Behold, a few nuggets of wisdom from trusted thinkers throughout history that actually support Smith's striking social media assertions:
1. OSCAR WILDE
What Jaden said:
What we hope he meant:
"Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught." -Oscar Wilde
2. GALILEO GALILEE
What Jaden Said:
What we hope he meant:
"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself." - Galileo Galilee
3. RALPH WALDO EMERSON
What Jaden Said:
What we hope he meant:
"We are shut up in schools and college recitation rooms for ten or fifteen years, and come out at last with a bellyful of words and do not know a thing." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
4. JEAN PIAGET
What Jaden Said:
What we hope he meant:
"The principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done." - Jean Piaget
5. G.K. CHESTERTON
Perhaps Smith's questioning of the education system is just an expression of what a great scholar he really is:
"No man who worships education has got the best out of education... Without a gentle contempt for education no man's education is complete." - G.K. Chesterton
6. ARISTOTLE
Well, he would have at least given Smith's thoughts the time of day, even if in the end, he wasn't willing to accept or agree with the young star's ideas. Maybe we should give that a shot ourselves.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle
