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If their day consisted of outdoor free play, they wouldn't actually be learning - which is half the problem. They need to learn, and about every 5-10 years, th

by Endy 8y ago

If their day consisted of outdoor free play, they wouldn't actually be learning - which is half the problem. They need to learn, and about every 5-10 years, the amount they need to know in order to function (in other words, how much the teacher needs to teach and test for) seems to be doubling. Then again, I wonder how different our world would be if I could just send the kids outside who didn't want to be in my classroom, let them have their "free play" time, and then be able to spend my focus & energy on a smaller and more focused group who know that there's an option - and make a deliberate choice to stay.

jacobolus 8y ago
> If their day consisted of outdoor free play, they wouldn't actually be learning Are you serious? You think that young children don’t learn from free play? What in the world is your definition of “learning”? > how much the teacher needs to [..] test for Oh I see. You mean “learning” as judged exclusively by standardized multiple-choice tests. Well fine, it’s not exactly surprising that if we force children to spend 5+ hours per day sitting in rows in desks working independently filling out busywork worksheets or watching teachers solve similar trivial exercises on a whiteboard, they will be better at doing the same thing for arbitrary test points than someone who hasn’t spent any time practicing that, even if both kids think the test is a pointless waste of time.... but that doesn’t really indicate anything at all about children’s abilities more generally. If we instead measured the kids’ balance, strength, running speed, hand-eye coordination, intuitive understanding of physics, ability to improvise mechanical devices from found objects, knowledge of local plants and animals, emotional self-understanding and self-control, negotiation and bargaining skills, social organization/leadership, .... we would find that the professional worksheet-fillers are years behind their playing peers. Some of the most capable (even at book-smarts) people I ever met were absolutely horrid throughout school, but then did amazing things after. Others never went to school at all and still did amazing things. Others I know aced every test right up through college, and then had no idea what to do afterward, because they had never really been forced to think for themselves. Getting children to be as successful as possible at multiple-choice tests at age 8 is not a good top priority for the education system.

by Endy 8y ago

jacobolus 8y ago

> If their day consisted of outdoor free play, they wouldn't actually be learning Are you serious? You think that young children don’t learn from free play? What in the world is your definition of “learning”? > how much the teacher needs to [..] test for Oh I see. You mean “learning” as judged exclusively by standardized multiple-choice tests. Well fine, it’s not exactly surprising that if we force children to spend 5+ hours per day sitting in rows in desks working independently filling out busywork worksheets or watching teachers solve similar trivial exercises on a whiteboard, they will be better at doing the same thing for arbitrary test points than someone who hasn’t spent any time practicing that, even if both kids think the test is a pointless waste of time.... but that doesn’t really indicate anything at all about children’s abilities more generally. If we instead measured the kids’ balance, strength, running speed, hand-eye coordination, intuitive understanding of physics, ability to improvise mechanical devices from found objects, knowledge of local plants and animals, emotional self-understanding and self-control, negotiation and bargaining skills, social organization/leadership, .... we would find that the professional worksheet-fillers are years behind their playing peers. Some of the most capable (even at book-smarts) people I ever met were absolutely horrid throughout school, but then did amazing things after. Others never went to school at all and still did amazing things. Others I know aced every test right up through college, and then had no idea what to do afterward, because they had never really been forced to think for themselves. Getting children to be as successful as possible at multiple-choice tests at age 8 is not a good top priority for the education system.