Thoughts About Education
Thoughts About Education
Shouldn’t we be “teaching” kids how to function in the world? How to question? How to reason? How to get along with each other? How to collaborate? How to be economically responsible? How to be healthy? How to enjoy life? How to be happy? Is it possible that we’re teaching the wrong stuff in our schools?
We make “learning” complicated, irrelevant, and boring. The concept of learning is simple. We learn by focusing on our own interests, inquiring (see below), having choices, setting goals, working with a mentor, observing, talking, doing, failing, reflecting, and trying again. “Inquiry” is critical to learning (as is emphasized in Warren Berger’s book, A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas). Inquiry is messy, but it’s usually comprised of the following equation: Why? + What if? + How? = Solution. Shouldn’t we be turning kids loose to inquire about what’s important to them? |