When I started teaching, I sometimes substituted at a vocational school. I didn’t know much about brick-laying, small engine repair, or computer technology but I muddled through. One class was geometry, which had been one of my worst subjects in high school. I struggled to stay ahead of the students. One day, a frustrated student looked up from his work and asked, “Why do we have to learn this anyway?” A surprising question from a student whose future would include designing and building structures and systems.
Students have always asked this question. I can imagine Aristotle clapping his hand to his forehead as a young Greek moaned, “Why are we doing all this arguing? Can’t you just tell us the answers?” Students must find meaning before they can learn.
In his book, Learn Better, Ulrich Boser writes, “Motivation is the first step in acquiring any sort of skill. It’s hard to learn something if we don’t see any meaning in it… value drives motivation.” To learn a new skill, one must see value in learning it.
What is your motivation for learning a new skill? A better salary, becoming more efficient, advancement, gaining enjoyment, improving a skill, learning a new skill, or beating an opponent? Systems analysts learn new computer skills to debug programs while video game players learn them to conquer virtual worlds.
Children may look at learning as something they have to do based on expectations set down by parents and teachers. Again, “Why do we have to do this?” Motivation is not always intrinsic. Think about potty training. What toddler wants to give up the waste-management services rendered by loving parents? Children must understand how life will be better when a skill is learned.
Boser writes, “When it comes to learning, meaning isn’t something that finds us. It’s something that we need to uncover on our own.” My frustrated student didn’t connect geometry to calculating the slope of a roof, designing the shape of a room, or estimating the number of bricks needed for a structure. Perhaps geometry would become meaningful for him when his first structure collapses under the weight of snow or when he runs short of bricks for a wall.
Parents and teachers can help children find meaning in learning. Aim learning toward practical applications. Tell time so you know when recess is. Count money so you can buy something at the store. Practice the song for the big show. Read so you can find information on your own or enter new worlds. Use math to build a doghouse or share out cookies. Children enjoy learning a skill if it is part of a game or project.
Help your children find meaning in learning. Demonstrate the value you derive from your learning. Show how learning pays off in accomplishment or enjoyment. Share the joys and purposes of learning so that your children can discover their own. Start now before the roof caves in.
(For more information, read Learn Better: Mastering the Skills for Success in Life, Business, and School, or, How to Become an Expert in Just About Anything by Ulrich Boser.)
No comments:
Post a Comment