We’ve made learning into a game. Hoops to jump through. Levels to pass. Things to know. We’ve set it up so kids play the game to earn points. Even worse, we sort and resort those points and assume it all means something. We give kids awards for getting 100%, even when that 100% doesn’t actually mean they learned anything if it’s something they already knew. We over-emphasize grades, and under-emphasize real problem solving. We talk about changing education. A lot. But, ‘what’s always been done’ can be so comfortable. That game? It’s what we know. It’s what we all grew up playing.
But learning? It’s not a game. Learning is life. All the points in the world mean nothing if you don’t have the experience in struggle or the practice in collaborating with others. It’s time to break out of the game. Change things. Stop getting bogged down in the details that don’t really change HOW we teach. Start rewriting the design of daily learning experiences. The way we present material. The way we need to allow kids the time to uncover material. Rethinking the questions we ask and the problems we are presenting to kids. It’s time to throw a glitch in to the system. A spark. A way for our kids to break out of the game and get into real learning. Life.
