I can answer that question in one Tweet.
The learning that kids do today -- from what they learn to how they learn -- is not the same as it was for most adults. It's not even the same as when my own daughter was in high school less than 10 years ago. That Tweet I shared is a prime example why kids need access to computers, the internet, and tools that allow them to create, communicate, and collaborate. Because that's how kids learn.Showing me her google slides of hybrid animals that she’s making with a friend. Silly mom thought it was for school, nope just for fun! pic.twitter.com/C1dYm0YAoi— Holly Psinas (@PsinasHolly) April 26, 2019
Sometimes teachers feel like kids don't want to learn. But that's not really true. They DO want to learn. They just might not want to learn things the way we are presenting them (or even the things we are asking them to learn). Obviously, there are some skills that are just necessary to learn, but if we can give kids the right tools to learn with -- meaning the tools they are accustomed to use for learning -- and if we can give them some autonomy in their learning, then we as teachers just might be able to hook them into the things we want them to learn, like photosynthesis, geometry, the Constitution, or Shakepseare's sonnets.
When kids have the right tools and when they have some voice in their own education, they do indeed learn. But when we try to force a square peg (learning today) into a round hole (learning the way we used to), it sure looks like kids don't want to learn. But look at that Tweet again. There she is. Learning, Creating. Collaborating. For FUN!
What a profound lesson Miss P taught us.
This post also appears on my personal blog about education.
Great post! In my opinion, we were designed to love learning. It was built into us. The tools students have today give them the ability to create in ways never before possible!
ReplyDeleteWe were absolutely designed to love learning! From the moment we are born, we are learning -- the sounds of our parents' voices, how to self-soothe, how to walk, how to feed ourselves, what we like to play with, what we like to do for fun, which people we can trust, and a million other things. Once the kids get into school and there is a pre-determined set of skills and facts and concepts to learn, that's where things break down if we don't let kids continue to learn in the ways they know they can learn and that they like to learn. And if we are going to ask them to show us what they learned, we need to give them the tools to do that -- which might be by answering questions, or it might be by making a music video.
Delete