We attended a general parent-teacher evening tonight that was, which essentially gave me a couple hours to observe and think about what I saw, because I didn't understand much of what was going on. I wasn't a good student when I was a student, and I don't seem to be any better as an adult. Well, it was all in Finnish and I just tune it out these days. What I did like seeing, was that the classroom looked like a classroom - it was neat and clean, and didn't have piles of useless kid stuff everywhere. Sure, I get that kids should play, but learning is also the point of school. And they did have things to play with.
Instruments.
The bad news is....
Smallsteps is going to start playing the recorder.
You know, that horrible sounding plastic thing where kids fumble around blowing the wrong notes and driving their parents mad? That one. However, I am quite happy about this, as I never played it as a kid, nor any other instruments, and I reckon it would be cool to be able to play anything. The good thing about the recorder and why it is so important at schools, is that firstly, they are cheap. But sec0ondly and more importantly, they give a clear note and make it obvious when it is off key. Kids are able to train their ears very quickly.
Since starting at the new school, Smallsteps has been calmer (not that she was a wildling), more patient and in a generally better mood. As hoped, the classroom environment is more suited to her personality, and other kids are also there to learn. Tonight the teacher said that there is a good level of musical skill in the class, but the academic level is also very high. Granted, they are nine year old kids, so "high academic level" isn't rocket science, but she is a very experienced teacher also.
So far at least, despite the added logistical complexity for us, has been a good thing for Smallsteps, who now has a chance to spend classroom time doing the work, and getting help when she needs it, because the teacher isn't chasing around the half of the students that would run amok, like in her old class. While there is about the same number of students in the class, there is room for all of them to learn, and all of them to get some personal attention.
The learning environment is incredibly important for all of us and if we are truly intending to learn something, or change our behaviours in some way, we should pay attention to the design of our environment. We should increase access and make it easier to do the things that support our development, and reduce access and make it harder to do the things that undermine our development. It doesn't really matter what we are trying to do, we should lower the bar to doing it.
And this goes for learning in schools. And if we want kids to excel academically and go into a range of fields to become real-world problem solvers for the issues we face, we need to design our classrooms to best support that development. However, this is the challenge with the school systems for the most part, because they support average. I am not even talking about average people, just average as an outcome. They aren't looking to build an environment that encourages the best of people, they are looking to cater for everyone.
It doesn't work.
But, schools (governments) no longer care that much about the reality of what works, they focus on the impression it gives. Rather than looking at what is actually needed, they look to maximise the people who think they are at least trying to do something, if if what they are trying to do is going to have worse outcomes than making decisions that leave some people unhappy.
Inclusion, to the detriment of all.
A lot of people see school as a type of jail, where they are forced to be, and forced to learn - and I agree. It is a jail, in the sense that a child doesn't get to choose everything they learn and do. But what it should teach them is the way to learn anything that they choose to learn. Once they are out of jail, they are then free to focus on what is important to them. But, schools don't do this for most students and instead, kill the will to learn much at all. Many people get out of school, and they are done. Learning is one of the few things we do all of our lives.
Cradle to the grave.
But what we learn matters. We often put "learning" in as some positive process of growth and improvement, but all of those negative habits and their outcomes, are also products of our learning, which in turn are indicative of our environments.
We are what we eat.
I don't know what you do to learn, nor do I know what you are trying to change in your life currently, but it would be interesting to hear about how people set up their personal environment to support the outcome they are looking to achieve. Maybe you are trying to learn an instrument, maybe looking to lose weight, or improve your writing skills. Whatever it is, why not discuss it here and see what comes of it?
Taraz
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