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"I don't want to need it someday. I need to want it now."

If school is preparation for work, and work is what we do to live, then when do we live?

Viewing school as something we do to prepare for the "real world" or for some career in "the future" we lose sight of the present. Today's activities are not done solely to achieve some nebulous future goal.

What if we spent the day immersed in activities that grow out of the natural wonderings of our students?

I want my students to enjoy

  • science for the wonder it engenders
  • literature for the worlds it opens to us
  • math for the marvelous patterns it communicates
  • physical education for the pleasure of play
  • learning for the sake of learning
  • discovery for the joy that accompanies it

Heck, I want to enjoy those things myself, and I do, not because it will pay-off sometime down the road, but because I love learning.

 

Posted by milesmac on October 31st, 2012 Posted in Pedagogy Tagged as: ,,,,

3 Comments

  1. MPNEngaged says:
    November 18, 2012 at 10:42 PM

    Must follow the lead of kids for this to happen. The place for much of what you speak of, above, is outside! Unstructured play (outside) is almost non-existent, it seems. Inside, an inspiring, enthusiastic and engaging teacher can fuel interest. But this must be student centered and involve more "doing".

    Reply
    • milesmac says:
      November 19, 2012 at 6:30 AM

      I agree, Mary. Letting the kids identify their areas of interest, then working with them to dig deeper and extend understanding through experiences. I've been thinking for a while that if we had twice as many buses we would need half the size of the school because kids would be out-and-about learning and engaging with the world.

      Reply

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