What鈥檚 the best way to teach students about intellectual humility?
I answered this question along with a few others for in a :
What is intellectual humility鈥攁nd how is it different from just plain humility?
Intellectual humility is about acknowledging your limitations. It means being willing to recognize that you don鈥檛 know everything there is to know about the world, that you鈥檙e not infallible, and also that other people know things that you don鈥檛.
That鈥檚 different from general humility, which is about believing you鈥檙e not entitled to special treatment. It can pertain to your limitations as well as your strengths. And it applies to lots of different areas. So I can be humble about my athletic ability, my singing ability, and so on. Intellectual humility, on the other hand, focuses on your knowledge and ideas.
Teachers know the importance of teaching kids humility, but they might wonder why intellectual humility matters for young people. Can you explain?
Somebody who lacks intellectual humility is stuck where they are, even if they鈥檙e wrong. So if they have a belief that鈥檚 incorrect and they don鈥檛 have intellectual humility about it, they鈥檙e going to walk around with that false belief for a long time. Intellectual humility is really important for everyone鈥攜oung people and adults鈥攂ecause it opens us up to learning. And without it, we can鈥檛 grow.
Why do people struggle to show intellectual humility?
It鈥檚 perfectly reasonable for people to be hesitant to show what they don鈥檛 know鈥攖hey might be afraid people will think they鈥檙e incompetent. But those fears are overblown. Adam Fetterman鈥檚 shows that people think it鈥檚 a bad idea to admit they鈥檙e wrong, even when it鈥檚 very clear that they are. But in study after study, other people tend to like that person more when they do admit it. They judge them as more competent than somebody who tries to hide it or deny that they鈥檝e made a mistake.
What do you think people get wrong about intellectual humility?
Sometimes, people think that intellectually humble people lack conviction. But confidence and humility need each other. We鈥檙e learning that you need a certain amount of self-esteem to be humble鈥攜ou need to have some basic belief in your capacity to give voice to your own questions or confusion. At the same time, confidence needs intellectual humility or else it becomes miscalibrated, it becomes foolish. So confidence and intellectual humility fit together.
What do we need to know about how to teach intellectual humility to teens?
Rejection hurts teens more than it hurts adults or younger children. They鈥檙e particularly sensitive to where they fit in the social hierarchy. So we have to be really intentional about creating supportive environments where teens can practice intellectual humility.
In the classroom, for example, teachers can say: 鈥淥ur purpose for being here today is to learn as much as possible. As the teacher, I know a lot about this subject, but I don鈥檛 know everything there is to know about it. And if you have a different view, a different take on things, I have the potential to learn from you. So I invite you to share that.鈥�
I also suggest praising kids when they have the courage to admit they鈥檝e made a mistake. It鈥檚 not easy to just come out and say you鈥檝e gotten something wrong. You can say: 鈥淚鈥檓 so impressed that you would admit this. That takes a lot of courage, and now that you鈥檝e admitted it, we can grow from here. I鈥檓 really proud of you for doing that.鈥� That sort of thing can be powerful.
