The post that I read, http://zenhabits.net/kid-skills/, was written by an individual who believes that the way we have been teaching our children, by means of memorizing information and regurgitating it back,is flawed and that a whole new approach, what he calls "deschooling" ,is needed to form a more well rounded individual. His main argument was that people "back then" believed the world of the future would change very little, so the information gathered then would be still relevant in the future. Unfortunately, we don't know what the future has in store thus we can't truly prepare for it. Instead, he believes that it is better for an individual to learn a certain set of skills which will allow the individual to become better prepared at adapting to any kind of change the individual is faced with.
One of the skills is "asking questions". He believes that by asking questions, one is able to learn many new things on their own. I agree with this completely. Looking at the way some Koreans are taught, by simply listening quietly to what is taught, I find that some have a difficult time formulating questions and expressing their opinions.
Second skill is letting them be more independent. Once again, I could not agree more. Individuals who are taught how to do things by themselves, are able to build up a lot confidence and have a sense of pride that the thing that they are doing is theirs. Of course, this is something that should be taught in stages throughout a child's life.
Overall, the list of skills he mentions make sense although actually implementing them all may be a huge challenge to any parent planning on "deschooling" their children. Only time will tell I suppose. As for me as a teacher, I believe that I should try to challenge my students more and try to incorporate some of these skills into my future lesson plans.
This blog will follow my journey through my Masters course at Framingham University
I like the idea of "deschooling" children. I think with the right parents this idea could very well be an improvement over traditional schooling. Many of the concepts that I see you commenting on are in essence good practices for parents to do with their children whether they have their kids in regular school or not. Teaching your children to learn independently is essential to their educational growth, and telling them to question everything rather than just absorbing ideas is also an extremely important skill. The issue I see with "deschooling" is a practical one. Most parents either don’t have the time resources or financial resources to properly educate their children on a full time basis. However like I wrote above, the basic skills presented by the writer should be passed on by any parent to their children regardless of their educational situation.
ReplyDeleteHey Michel. I also read this article and found the whole idea of 'deschooling' very intriguing. Also, some of the skills he mention were fantastic. I, personally, have found that students leaving school are not always fully equipped with the knowledge or skills they need to survive (i.e. get a job). I include myself in this group. When I first graduated from university I had a degree and not much else. It made me realize that we, as students, are not always prepared for the future. And this is where I feel this article was terrific...a sort of back-to-the- basics; a way of shaping our students for any possibility.
ReplyDeleteIts hard to argue with Leo Babauta on the skills he finds important in educating his children. However i'm not sure I really agree with his point that passing down knowledge is unimportant. While I agree that simple memorizing facts can be somewhat useless, the best teachers I had in school were ones that incorporated learning 'handed down knowledge' while teaching me to think critically and question it at the same time. I would argue that studying events and ideas from history even as far back as the classical era can still teach us lessons and give us insight into the present day.
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