Learning with Children, Not at Them
Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing, on John Holt’s How Children Learn:
Holt’s basic thesis is that kids want to learn, are natural learners, and will learn more if we recognize that and let them explore their worlds, acting as respectful co-learners instead of bosses. Practically speaking, that means letting them play and playing with them, but resisting the temptation to quiz them on their knowledge or to patronize them.
A friend of mine, observing me with my son Drake, gently admonished me, “Not everything has to be a teaching moment.” It helps to have these reminders, since it’s easy for me to get mired in the “shoulds.”
September 29th, 2008 at 5:41 am
Love John Holt! His Growing Without Schooling is fantastic. I like your title: Learning with Children, Not at Them.
September 30th, 2008 at 11:27 am
word
I struggle with exactly the same thing. My wife just recently shared an article with me on letting kids play with junk (as opposed to “packaged” toys like Lego, etc.) as a better and more real-world learning experience… it makes some good points.
in fact, Quinn (8) has gotten to the point where he rolls his eyes when I go overboard on an explanation.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
I homeschooled my eldest child for a while. Even though it has been five years since I stopped, I still find myself trying to turn everything into an educational opportunity. My daughter doesn’t have a problem with it, but the younger kids look at me like I’m crazy.
October 1st, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Your brother-in-law once told his mother, “You’re my mother, not my teacher.”