As a new dad it's thrilling to watch my fifteen month old grow and develop into a robust young man. The other day I was thinking about the volume of knowledge that he amasses! He is learning so much! I'm very sure that I would not be able to handle the amount of information that is flowing through his mind on a daily basis. It's amazing how high his belief in himself is. He expects 100% success in everything that he does. He will not accept anything less than 100%!
My fear though is that once he startes going to school, his creativity, imagination and inspiration will begin to dwindle. He will begin to learn that he has to raise his hand in order to speak, he has to memorize material because he will be tested on it, he has to think inside the box and color inside the lines. As an educator, I value the process of education but I think we sometimes lose our kids' creativity in the process of educating them. We should be teaching them how to learn, not what to learn.
Here are brief thoughts on a philosophy of learning that I intend to personalize:
1. The journey of learning should make use of a person's experiences. The goal should be to enable the student to grow and develop themselves. This therefore means that learning should be customized to the learner's strengths and skill sets. It should be student-centered and individualized.
2. Learning events should be EPIC. By this I mean they should be Experiential, Participatory, Interactive and Connective. Learning should be an experience - making use of all of the learner's senses. The learner should be an active participant in the process of learning. There should be give and take between teh learner and the teacher, plus the content. The learner should also be able to relate what he is learning to what he already knows.
3. Good learning should move the student towards being intrinsically motivated in the pursuit of advanced knowledge. Again, the learner should be learning how to learn for and by himself. Unless an individual picks up the tools and endeavors to educate himself, he will never realize his full potential. Learning should expose the learner to his potential.
4. Learning should be relevant to the daily experiences of the learner. I think that one of the greatest tools for teaching is the life experience of learners. We normally spend so much money on creating and looking for diverse educational resources when we have the most effective resource available to us - the learner's experiences.
5. Learning should be geared towards igniting a fire inside the learner so that they will embrace the journey of learning for themselves. The learner should be provided with glimpses of enlightenment so that they can pursue light by themselves. They should be driven by a purpose deep within themselves.
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