A few days ago I was doing school with my Beckie, and she was her usual somewhat restless self. She tends to rush through school work, fearing that it will take forever, and wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible. I'd like her to develop a love of learning, but we're still working on that. As we were going over some geography, I asked if a certain mountain range was along the eastern or western border of the state we were studying. Grinning at me, but without opening the book to look at the map, she confidently proclaimed "Eastern!" I told her that was incorrect, and that she needed to actually take the time to look at the book in order to answer the questions just as we always do when working on geography. Her response is typical of the impulsive, risk-taking kids I've worked with over the years. She smiled and said, "I have no regrets. I had a 50-50 chance of being right!" For me, it was about her truly learning something. For Beckie, it was about getting finished with the work. So the compromise? Beckie will learn how to find information, but doesn't have to memorize facts she cares nothing about. That way, when it does become meaningful to her she will know how to find the information for herself. And I get to relearn all the information I've forgotten since it wasn't meaningful to me when I was Beckie's age. Beckie, I understand, but I will still work to equip you for your continuing education and any life skills I can pass along to you.
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I am new to your blog. However I wanted to thank you for your post because it helped me to realize even in schooling and learning that my children are individuals and as long as I teach them how to learn they will know what to do when they want to learn something of interest to them. I have always said that I want to teach my children how to learn and a love for learning and that was the most important things to me. Some times though I seem to forget that in the midst of our schooling. Thank you for reminding me and letting me know that I am not the only one who feels this way.
Christina
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