Why do we really go to school? I've asked this question a million times to myself and to the children who come to Sparkling Mindz. As much as I like to ponder on this, they don't cease to amaze me with how they respond either. Not just to the question to the very act of thinking through and posing something existential like that.
Here's my latest brush with this question:
We had our school orientation with children today and it was so energizing to meet all of them (as it always is!). I like to keep something slightly above their grasp level in the session always. Something that they need to stretch to reach and do so by themselves. Sometimes it's an abstract thought, a moral dilemma and sometimes they are words (like pet peeve!).
Of course, children have their eyes light up when they come across a challenge and they go seeking the answers (one way or the other). Even if not immediately, it has shaken them out of the slumber of walking mindlessly through life (which is one of the reasons why one should choose to learn, and of course, the school can be a space where learning can be enabled).
We had a parent ask us in the recent past, "Shouldn't we simplify the words else they will not be able to understand, right?"
No, actually.
We should NOT simplify.
Here's my latest brush with this question:
We had our school orientation with children today and it was so energizing to meet all of them (as it always is!). I like to keep something slightly above their grasp level in the session always. Something that they need to stretch to reach and do so by themselves. Sometimes it's an abstract thought, a moral dilemma and sometimes they are words (like pet peeve!).
Of course, children have their eyes light up when they come across a challenge and they go seeking the answers (one way or the other). Even if not immediately, it has shaken them out of the slumber of walking mindlessly through life (which is one of the reasons why one should choose to learn, and of course, the school can be a space where learning can be enabled).
We had a parent ask us in the recent past, "Shouldn't we simplify the words else they will not be able to understand, right?"
No, actually.
We should NOT simplify.
It's in the seeking and stretching that the learning happens.
We cannot deprive our children of that. I would rather challenge the child, stretch her imagination and then let her find a place to settle on a ground higher than she thought was ever possible. If we keep doing this on a regular basis we then have a learner in the making who enjoys taking on challenges.
So, coming back to the question, "Why should our children go to school?"
To Learn.
And, if our expectation is that our children should know and understand everything easily, that things should be a breeze or always accessible or that we'll do well if someone just explained everything to them step by step so that they will not have to struggle then we have got our fundamental understanding of education and learning all wrong.
Learning is messy, it involves getting frustrated, forgetting, wanting to run away and still staying the ground, feeling like you have seen the light and then hitting a dead end, finding your way out of the mess/the maze whatever you choose to see it as and gearing up to walk another joyfully enjoying the process of learning, unlearning, relearning. It is not a destination, it is not a goalpost, it is not a state, it is a journey.
When we talk about joyous learning at SM, we don't mean to create a utopia or create a space where anything goes in the name of 'we should not upset the kids'. We mean deep, connected, meaningful, purpose-driven, frustratingly beautiful, reflective, empathetic, process-driven student-owned, student-led, rigorous learning which children learn to embrace and enjoy. This requires us to step back and reimagine continuously what we think of as limits of our children's abilities and imagination.
It may seem non-obvious to people but very young children are capable of very complex and abstract thought. A complicated vocabulary is merely the outer shell, merely the medium through which they can learn to express the rich complexity of their ideas. It is, in no way, a reflection of their ability itself which is infinite and unknowable. We are mere spaces that exist through which the child's potential can find its path and go on its learning journey - meandering, frustrated, overflowing with joy, passion, and finding its center in the process.
Let us create a journey of a lifetime for them, a journey that demands as much from them as they seek to give and of course, then some more.
Contributed by Sreeja Iyer, CEO & Co-founder, Sparkling Mindz Global School, Preschool & Afterschool
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