Technology is rapidly changing what we learn and how we learn. Email is barely 20 years old, and Facebook is already yesterday’s go-to. We have dictionaries and encyclopedias in our phones and watches, and a “bot” reading our minds is just around the corner. More and more university courses are being taken online, even as some question the value of a college degree. Teachers work to prepare students for good jobs when competition for those jobs might be in Mumbai, Moscow, or Minneapolis.Education—society—has never been in such a state of turmoil.
In light of all this constant change, what should educators do?
It’s actually quite simple. Educators must prepare students to be lifelong learners. That’s done by creating a setting in which students love to learn. Going to school shouldn’t be like going to the gym, where success is measured in sweat and pain. It should be exciting. An important factor in determining the quality of a school is its “smile quotient.” When you walk through school hallways, it should be obvious that everyone is happy to be there.
Please don’t misunderstand. Joyful learning doesn’t mean that education is always easy or pleasant. Students need to be challenged, and there’s definitely a place for rigor in the curriculum. You’d better believe that students in Beijing and Buenos Aires are also working hard to learn the three R’s. Amanda Ripley’s book The Smartest Kids in the World is focused on students in Finland, South Korea, and Poland. It describes how these countries’ schooling systems are far more arduous than that of the United States, from classroom expectations to the amount of homework.
It’s also important that students develop grit, that they have a capacity for perseverance and getting out of their comfort zone. It’s an attribute that students will carry with them for life.
So how do educators balance these competing—perhaps contrasting—needs? How do they instill joyful learning while pushing students?
It’s essential that students be engaged. They need to be captivated by the subject matter and confident that they can succeed. Educators can do this by making learning relevant, by giving students choices. Educators need to recognize that children learn best by doing, not just by sitting and listening. They need to figure out how students learn and use that information to give students pathways to learn. Educators should assess their changes in ways that tell them what students know and which approaches are effective in helping them learn. Finally, educators must put students in charge of their own education by reflecting on how they learn.
In a school that embraces joyful learning, teachers’ plans include both what is to be learned and strategies for tapping into the ways that students learn. Children must know how to read, research, write, and calculate, but there are other ways to gain understanding.
Some children might flourish while working in a centennial garden, for instance. Others might learn about the Civil War by looking at Matthew Brady’s 1860s photos or by contrasting the music of the North and South. The idea is that students are excited about learning, that it’s a joyful process for them.
In choosing a school for your child, it’s important to really look around, observe, and ask questions. Are students given choices about what they learn or how they learn? Are they challenged and stretched so part of the process is learning how to respond to frustration and failure? These strategies lead to engagement, regardless of the student’s age or the subject matter.
Do the students and teachers smile? It’s OK, even natural, for students to grumble about homework—but do they enjoy learning?
Parents and educators alike have a responsibility to ensure that education is more than acquisition of knowledge. Our children need to learn how to learn and to love learning. Lifelong learning begins with a sense of joy.
Hoerr is head emeritus of New City School.
