As an overall perspective on David Perkins's "Beyond Understanding", I felt that the article was very intellectual and thought provoking. I am unsure whether I will ever fully be able to grasp what Perkins is trying to explain, for the article is extremely in depth and acquires a very mature tone that calls for several reviews of various paragraphs. However, once several peers and I were able to take on a broad perspective of his article, we were able to then apply it to our lives.
One intriguing part that Perkins mentions is how we are being educated today in the world and how it is affecting our knowledge for the present and future. As a student, I agree with his thought that we are only reaching the second stage of knowledge because few teachers tend to go deeper into the most important topics in life. However, I don't understand how he imagines the world of education ever being able to reach the proactive stage, for it is extremely difficult to teach in a classroom.
A final opinion that I want to share on this topic is that I feel society may be prematurely judged by those such as Perkins. It is possible that people still going through their education do not have the physical ability to think and act on such a high level. Like in every theory of psychological development, as people get older, their thought processes and perceptions become more intellectual and detailed. This is not to say, however, that we all have excuses for incompetence and immaturity, but some may not be as developed as the world would like. Maybe give our generation a few more years and re-evaluate.
