In the last five blogs, we have considered these things:
- the possibility that our students, including high schoolers, can enjoy learning;
- the notion that learning, though hard work, can be pleasurable;
- the concept that all learning has the possibility of being studied with pleasure;
- the hope that teachers can teach less while learners learn more;
- the power of laughter in engaging the brain.
But what does this mean in real life? How do we move from theory to experience?
Well, I would like to draw upon the world of athletics to help us at this point.
First, analyze these two pictures. What differences do you notice?
What are some terms you could use to describe the two groups of people in these photos?
In the top photo, how active are the folks involved in that game of tug-of-war?
In contrast, how active are the folks who are sitting in the stadium?
Not to insult your intelligence, but which group is more athletically engaged?
Of course. All the folks involved in tug-of-war are fully engaged in the experience. The folks in the stadium may be interested, or, then again, maybe not. We have no idea of monitoring the involvement of the spectators, but I can promise you that they are not nearly as engaged as the players on the field OR the people pulling the rope.
And that is what we’re after in education. We want our children to have the opportunity to fully participate in the learning experience, not watch it pass by as a mildly involved spectator. We want them pulling in information, hitting a home-run in learning math facts or reading fluently or understanding WWII!
And, dear friends, there are a number of tried-and-true ways to do this.
No kidding.
I have to warn you, though, it’s not going to look like education-as-usual. It will probably look a whole lot more like the top photo—having a lot of fun, playing outside, working as a team, and putting your whole heart into it!
If that sounds intriguing, we are going to look next at some of the unique ways we are wired to learn—and how tapping into that can engage your kids in ways you would never have anticipated. That’s when homeschooling gets exciting!!
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