Keeping Curiosity

Throwback post from Learning About Learning, a previous blog about my journey through post-secondary education.

I firmly believe that God gave children an inborn love of learning. It is innate. That exploration, that desire to know, that curiosity is God-given.

Do we kill that in schools?

I'm at home on Reading Break right now, and I looked again at the book that my placement class last semester gave to me. It is a kindergarten class, and as I flipped through the pictures, the art, and the notes they wrote me, I was reminded of their enthusiasm. These students dove into their learning with enthusiasm. They asked questions; they explored. They made connections between what they did, what they learned, and their life away from school.

That is kindergarten. By high school, students seem to be lacking that. Many don't try, and those who do are often motivated by external factors like getting into university instead of being motivated by interest in learning. One of those things that makes you go "Hmmmm."

However, I can't complain about that unless I'm willing to be part of the solution. So I am, with the information I've gleaned so far, a proponent of things like individualized instruction, of project-based learning, and of experiential learning. I think as the Canadian education system moves towards this, it will be harder for a bit as things are reworked, but rewarding. As I go through my classes and learn curriculum and theory, it will be with the full intention to take what I am learning now (even as I am bogged down with papers and theory can seem irrelevant or at the very least a lower priority) and apply it in a very practical way - how do I get children excited about learning, and then how do I guide them toward authentic learning?

I also do have to add that while it seems as if the system in general is failing a significant amount of children, there are many, many exceptions to this in the form of teachers who give their best to their students, year after year, to make learning meaningful. Your students may not know it, but they are blessed.