I have a ton of food for thought today. Questions, favorite sources and resources, ideas – set aside some time to dig into it all and bookmark for returning to later. Education is a huge topic for which my only qualifications are that 1. I am a lifelong consumer, 2. I’m a parent and care deeply about my children’s education, 3. I have been a teacher at various points in my life, and 4. I think, ask, question, rethink. So, what is school for?
History
Currently I have one child in college studying sustainability, one is homeschooling/unschooling with a focus on Lego design, and one is farm schooling. Wildly different experiences that are tailored to each of their interests and learning styles.
Backing up to when my oldest began school, we jumped into the more thoughtful, creative style of education from the start – we had the great fortune of joining a co-op preschool in Culver City, CA, that was the perfect start for him, but even moreso for all of us as parents. We learned to think about and assess schools – their functions, goals, look closely and question, do not be a sheeple.
Every School – Almost
Over the years with all three kids we moved through public schools, charter schools, other co-ops, private schools, Montessori schools, Waldorf, online k12, unschool, farm school, homeschool group. I think the only ones we never tried are boarding school, language immersion, and Reggio Emilia.
Why so many? Why not settle in and offer stability?
Keep in mind, all of these tastes and trials cover three children and began in 2004. But the purpose was to find the correct fit for each child at each stage in their life, and with each school in their various stages. Just as children grow and change, so, too, does a school. Sometimes schools would change and no longer be the right fit. In any case, above all, our goal has been to offer each child the very best learning environment and opportunity possible.
How fortunate we are to be able to offer this.
It isn’t the norm.
It should be.
I am home and available to offer these unique opportunities to my younger two. Otherwise, these opportunities don’t exist in a traditional school setting, at least not fully. But they could, and many creative schools are beginning to take a closer look at what they are offering and why. More and more people are asking the question – what is school for?
What is school for?
School doesn’t need to be a holding pen where kids are force-fed information they are not interested in. What if, instead, they are all invited to explore what they are interested in? Self-directed, free-form. This is the concept behind unschooling. How about we bring it into the classroom? Give benchmarks and then set the kids free to do what they already know how to do.
Seth Godin on School and Education
Today’s blog from Seth is so timely. We are currently reworking our 8th grader’s unschooling plan to help him work through the normal phase of grumpiness/questioning authority that comes at his age, seeking new common ground. It is a year of transition before high school, a year where we need to carefully craft his path so he can continue to learn with joy and on his terms, but also not be left behind in comparison to the “rest of the world,” aka traditional school.
Have a look at what Seth has to say today…
Please pause to read it, but in a nutshell, he is proposing that we shift the modern curriculum to suit the modern times. Totally logical. We advance everything else in life to match the times, why does education stay stuck?
The basic foundation is student-centered, self-directed projects. In service of learning to solve interesting problems and how to lead as well as follow. And to support that, the “courses” are practical tools students can use on their projects.
– Seth Godin
With information readily available thanks to the Net, we no longer need to memorize and regurgitate information. We can shift form the what to the how.
Shift learning to:
- Statistics
- Games
- Communication
- History and propaganda
- Citizenship
- Real skills
- The scientific method
- Programming
- Art
- Decision-making
- Meta-cognition
You’ll have to read his full post to see the details for each, so go do that if you haven’t already.
He proposes creating courses and an educational model based on what we need and value. Who doesn’t want that?
More Seth
Ever passionate about thinking, the why of things, and education, Seth has been a long-time advocate of better learning models. If you are a parent or know any kids or anyone with kids (everyone), please read and watch all of these. Food for thought.
From 2012 – Stop Stealing Dreams
From 2014 – Blog Post that links together many more elements
This…
Watch this with your older kids…
Consider
I am not saying that all schools are bad. Maybe yours is amazing and perfect for your child. If so, AWESOME!! We have found such places at various times and it feels magical when it happens. But, maybe it isn’t. Maybe it is worth looking more closely, reconsidering, rethinking. Maybe it is time to be certain that what our children are getting each day aligns with what we value, what we want, what they want, and what is best for them and our world.
This is as much a message to myself as everyone reading – as I mentioned above, we are currently reworking our middle child’s plan so that it is more interesting and inspiring for him, more self-directed, and still maintains the goal of staying current should he ever want to go to a more traditional school model.
What are your thoughts?
It’s a hot topic. Before you answer for what you want for the kids in your life, put yourself in their position. How do you learn best and what inspires you? What values would want want applied to your learning?
We are born knowing how to learn.
We are born hungry to learn.
Let’s feed it right.
If you have landed on this page from an external link, please go HERE to read from the beginning. Otherwise, click on the next title below to continue.
Great question, especially here in the US. We spend more per capita on education than any other country in the world, and our OECD scores are near average and in some instances below average (https://www.thebalance.com/the-u-s-is-losing-its-competitive-advantage-330622).
Is there a better way? I hope so but wonder if the national, state and local boards of education will work on a solution, since “throwing money” at the issue is not the answer
Carey, we talk about this a lot together and I’m so proud that we have both realized that showing our kids that life is art vs work is so important. That they are artists and to go make something interesting. We have both witnessed Seth live and how these messages have changed our lives. Live your life by your own design. Make every moment a work of art for you and everyone around you. Love this post. It changes and questions the norm. It breathes life back into education and it works. No more tests, memorizing, getting in line and compliance. Learning is fun. It’s art. Go make your masterpiece. You’ve helped me make our masterpiece. 😍🥰 It’s our life of learning and growing. Thank you, Carey.