pedagogical thoughts
what does it mean to teach and learn at the idea school?
There have been some marvelous goings-on here at the IDEA School. Lately, we have been carefully observing the work of our children and we wanted to share a bit with you about the importance of their endeavors. This might sound a bit like a broken record playing but I'd like to take this opportunity to remember together some of the values that guide our shaping of the school day and our planning before and after.
We strongly believe that children should be responsible for their own learning. Too often, we interfere with this process by telling kids what they need to learn. This devalues the learning that is most important to them. At IDEA, we do not want our children to grow up with the belief that math and reading are primary and their passions are secondary. Reading, writing, and math are just a few of the tools they will use to express and explore whatever topic(s) they choose. The work our children choose and the interests that guide them might not seem useful or practical or measurable or even very deep, but if we provide them with ample time and space to explore these passions we access the most effective way for our children to learn perseverance, problem-solving, collaboration, confidence, self-discipline, and more. These are character traits and competencies that the job market of tomorrow will require of them and will be invaluable as their work and interests grow in scope and depth. Occasionally, we hear this from parents: "My child is so happy here and we love your school but can't you also teach _________?" This discounts the time that kids need to be working on what is most important to them. This is comparable to someone telling me that I am not allowed to continue to read and research about progressive practices in education until I become more competent at pre-calculus. And, no, I'm not going to give a presentation on the last 5 articles I've read; I'm too busy applying my new learning in the classroom! Ultimately, we need to let our kids decide what they become experts in and what kind of learning and work that will require. I am reminded of the conversation I had with a parent who was lamenting over their daughter's "shallow fixation" with makeup tutorials on YouTube. This parent was discouraged that their daughter was wasting time making and recording these tutorials when instead she could be doing something so much more "useful". I reassured them that by creating these tutorials their daughter was practicing a multitude of valuable skills. She was learning the best and most engaging and effective ways of communicating from other people's videos; she was writing and revising her scripts; she was using feedback to innovate on future videos; she was learning to use a video editing tool, etc. All of these skills will prove invaluable to her as she gets older and her interests evolve. We need to remember that learning is happening to our children all the time. They practice problem solving and creativity when they think of new ball games to play on the sandpile with limited space and players. They learn about language and rhythm when they play hand-clapping games together. They practice story-telling and collaboration when they are working on a Lego stop- animation video. When it takes them 4 weeks of woodshop to build a go-cart out of a shopping cart we know that they are gaining perseverance and self-direction. The list goes on and on. Our overwhelming hope for our children is that they grow into individuals who expect that the career they choose will be purposeful and pleasurable. We want our kids to be well-rounded and capable of healthy relationships and, most importantly, we want them to feel responsibility for and ownership of who they are and who they want to become. Please join us for our Expo Night and bear witness to the many extraordinary ways our children express the many languages they are learning here. As very important people in our children's lives, it is our responsibility to lean in to listen to the things that are exciting their interests. We need to commit to spending time communicating to them how much we value their work and the learning that is important to them. As you listen to their stories about the work they do, think about how they are becoming competent in these areas: problem-solving and critical thinking; finding and evaluating information; communication; creativity and innovation; and social and emotional development. Then ask yourself this question: "Why aren't we all spending more time furthering our learning through activities that are engaging, challenging, and purposeful?"
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