Learning for the Sake of Learning
"I wonder what's at the border?"
"What do you mean, David?" my wife replied.
"Well, when we actually cross from Montana into Alberta, Canada, I wonder what we will see?"
And then from the backseat our 12 year old daughter confidently stated, "All of the trees for a 20 foot line will be cut down. You should be able to see the border very clearly."
"How do you know that? We are in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mountains and huge trees, and you're telling me all of the trees will be cut down at this border?" I asked.
"Dad, I follow this video blog, and they share all sort of neat information. I'll show the blog to you when we get back to civilization and wifi."
As you can tell, we were traveling. My family and I were visiting Glacier National Park in Montana, and we had planned to cross into Canada to see the Canadian Waterton National Park. I live about 45 minutes from another international border with Canada that is easy to understand. The Detroit River marks the border, but I had no real idea how the border looked in the mountains.
When we crossed the border we saw a line about 20 feet wide cleared of all trees. The line went directly over mountains in both directions. Jennifer was correct.
She later showed me the video blog (Please watch. It's fascinating.) and said she follows other blogs on topics that interest her. She was learning for the sake of learning, and I clearly had a lot to understand.
I got to thinking that our daughter knew things that neither my wife nor I had taught her. She also didn't learn about international borders in school. As an elementary school principal and teacher I have a fairly good idea of what kids should know at certain ages--especially when they are in the younger grades. Jennifer had gotten to the point when I no longer controlled or even knew all that she knew.
Our district has worked for 5 years to clearly articulate our curriculum. In other words, we have worked to identify what kids should know and be able to do. You can see that work here. You can see essential questions, key concepts, and a general calendar of when those concepts will be taught. Our curriculum website has transformed our school system and helps us focus resources and training so all students can be more successful.
I'm fairly certain, however, nothing in our curriculum website states, "We want students to be able to learn for the sake of learning--not just because it might be on a test." I'm being sarcastic here, I know. We do need to teach specific concepts and skills, and schools should be held accountable for that teaching and learning. I worry, sometimes, that we get so hyper-focused on specific skills and concepts that we are missing the larger point of learning for the sake and joy of learning. We need to find a balance.
As we teach and raise children to be successful in the 21st century, I caution all of us to be sure to help kids desire to learn and to not just learn because it's on a test.
"What do you mean, David?" my wife replied.
"Well, when we actually cross from Montana into Alberta, Canada, I wonder what we will see?"
And then from the backseat our 12 year old daughter confidently stated, "All of the trees for a 20 foot line will be cut down. You should be able to see the border very clearly."
"How do you know that? We are in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mountains and huge trees, and you're telling me all of the trees will be cut down at this border?" I asked.
"Dad, I follow this video blog, and they share all sort of neat information. I'll show the blog to you when we get back to civilization and wifi."
As you can tell, we were traveling. My family and I were visiting Glacier National Park in Montana, and we had planned to cross into Canada to see the Canadian Waterton National Park. I live about 45 minutes from another international border with Canada that is easy to understand. The Detroit River marks the border, but I had no real idea how the border looked in the mountains.
When we crossed the border we saw a line about 20 feet wide cleared of all trees. The line went directly over mountains in both directions. Jennifer was correct.
She later showed me the video blog (Please watch. It's fascinating.) and said she follows other blogs on topics that interest her. She was learning for the sake of learning, and I clearly had a lot to understand.
I got to thinking that our daughter knew things that neither my wife nor I had taught her. She also didn't learn about international borders in school. As an elementary school principal and teacher I have a fairly good idea of what kids should know at certain ages--especially when they are in the younger grades. Jennifer had gotten to the point when I no longer controlled or even knew all that she knew.
Our district has worked for 5 years to clearly articulate our curriculum. In other words, we have worked to identify what kids should know and be able to do. You can see that work here. You can see essential questions, key concepts, and a general calendar of when those concepts will be taught. Our curriculum website has transformed our school system and helps us focus resources and training so all students can be more successful.
I'm fairly certain, however, nothing in our curriculum website states, "We want students to be able to learn for the sake of learning--not just because it might be on a test." I'm being sarcastic here, I know. We do need to teach specific concepts and skills, and schools should be held accountable for that teaching and learning. I worry, sometimes, that we get so hyper-focused on specific skills and concepts that we are missing the larger point of learning for the sake and joy of learning. We need to find a balance.
As we teach and raise children to be successful in the 21st century, I caution all of us to be sure to help kids desire to learn and to not just learn because it's on a test.
I really see PBL as giving kids that balance and encouraging that love of learning
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