Asking a Different Question


cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by [F]oxymoron

Spending the last few days at the 21st Century Learning Leadership Forum at Banff, we had a great conversation at the end of the conference discussing some of our key learnings moving forward.  It was echoed throughout the conference the importance of bringing our communities, and especially our parents into the conversations.  Their input is so valued and the importance of hearing that voice that is the expert on their own child, will really help move our schools towards a more personalized experience for every child.

Although there was a huge discussion about all of the different ways that we could try to communicate with parents and give them a transparent view into our schools, one comment stuck with me that I have heard many times before:

“It is tough sometimes because since everyone went to school, they believe they are also an expert.”

I will admit that I have seen resistance to some educational changes and if you read any article in the New York Times (or any mainstream paper), you will usually see a ton of comments longing for the “good ole days” of education.  I believe that we are seeing so many parents keeping up with educational research as technology gives us the opportunity to have access to much of the same information.  However,  there are always those who believe the “traditional” way is the best way.  There are so many things that the old way of school provided that we can build upon, but just like anything, the further we progress, the better it should be.

I often think, though, that we could turn this idea around and ask something different.  Instead of talking about what works or worked in school, maybe we need to do something different.  Why don’t we start the conversation with things like,

Give us a situation of where you really were passionate about something you were learning and explored that topic. What did that look like? How do we bring that to school?”

The focus needs to be on learning first, then we move it to school.

My best guess would be that many would not even default to a time that they were in school.  I know that I wouldn’t.  I have never learned anything from writing notes off of a board (other than how to write notes off of a board) but I remember spending a HUGE amount of time in school doing just that.  I do however know that when I have been interested in something, my own exploration of the topic in a way that was meaningful to me, has been where I have had the most success.  Many of the skills that I use to do that exploration now were not necessarily emphasized in school.

I think of my own nephews and nieces who were both fluent in Greek and English before they even walked into school, yet I can only speak one language.  I took French until grade 12 but can really only say “hello” and “may I go to the washroom” in the language (est-que je peux aller a la toilette?; life saver!).  Many of my friends who are fluent actually traveled to a city or country and were immersed in a language.  They struggled through the process, failed many times, but the real life experience of learning was what made them eventually successful.  How do we bring that to school in all areas?

If we can look at what works best for learning, focus on it, and bring that to our students, I am hoping that will move many people forward, most especially our kids.  If the process of learning  is continuously reinforced and emphasized at school in the work we do, we will have made a huge leap ahead.

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