Tag Archives: curiosity

Redefining School

07 Thursday Sep 2017

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sheep-brains-1.jpg

As another school year begins, it makes me think more about the purpose school serves in our lives and in societies throughout the world. Most everyone reading this post has attended school and knows what that means to them personally. If asked, would we all have the same definition of school? Does it have the same meaning for a 2-year-old as a 12- or 20-year-old? Does it serve the same purpose for us no matter our age or station in life? What do we expect from school?

Many would define school as the brick-and-mortar building where children go to learn. It houses children who are educated so that they may contribute to society as they grow older. School is a place, and what is supposed to happen there is learning. This limited definition of school assumes that students of any age will learn what they need to learn in this space and in a specifically allocated amount of time. It assumes we are all able to meet mandated goals in the same way and along the same trajectory.  Continue reading →

Curiosity vs. Knowledge

18 Thursday May 2017

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curiosity killed the cat

We all know the saying: “Curiosity killed the cat.” This article sheds a different light on that age-old adage, highlighting the premise that curiosity might be a better attribute than knowledge. It is commonly stated that we are living in the information age. Information, also known as knowledge, is there for the taking. We can search on Google, ask Siri or look up something on Wikipedia, and we will get an answer within minutes if not seconds.

If we simply want an answer to a question, those tools will provide the answer and the quest is finished. However, if we want to make connections, think further or wonder “what if,” that is only the beginning. In other words, if we are curious, we need more than the initial response to our questions and our thoughts. We need to think. We need to connect ideas and ask more questions. We need to wonder, to dream and to be curious. Knowing the multiplication tables is an attainable goal and one that schools hold important for children in elementary school. Connecting that knowledge to wonder about why yet another ice cream shop is going out of business if so many of the people walking on the boardwalk on a hot summer’s day are eating ice cream requires curiosity. It’s not simply looking at what exists and looking for a simple answer. Curiosity is going beyond that thinking to consider the “why,” the “how” and the ways in which one can make a difference by connecting those ideas.

Schools need to continue to help students gain knowledge; it is necessary to maintain an educated populace. However, it is imperative that they also instill a culture of curiosity. Children who are encouraged to think harder, try various ideas and adapt the results using a variety of tools are building skills needed for their future. They need to be given the time to think freely, wonder and guide their learning. Curiosity may be a problem for cats – not so for students. Allow it to thrive.

What do we need to know?

06 Thursday Apr 2017

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What do students need to succeed in school and in life? That is a question that educators have struggled with since societies began offering education to its citizens. Most of us wouldn’t argue with the idea that we all need to read, write and know basic math skills. After that it gets a bit muddier. What content must be “covered” to ensure an educated populace?

If you take a moment to consider your own education, what you loved about it, what you absorbed at the time, and what you quickly forgot and relearned later in life, you will begin to understand the limitations of a singular attempt at becoming an educated person. We have all learned a body of facts about history, geography, varying sciences and more. How many of those facts do you recall? Of those you remember, why do you suppose they are easily recalled? If you happen to have loved learning about Greek mythology as a child, chances are you held onto that information and have added to it throughout your life. If you were not interested in it, the opposite may have occurred; you remembered what was needed for a report or a test, forgot most of it and can perhaps pull up one or two facts years later.

There are national standards for education in all disciplines. Schools and educators throughout our country use those standards to determine what to teach and at what age or grade they should be included in the curriculum. What standards don’t address is how to ignite the interest, curiosity and passion of the children who are the intended learners. Education is much more than sharing facts. Attending school means so much more than being presented information. It is the place where we are inspired by ideas, current and past, by questions that ignite a curiosity and passion to seek answers, and by educators who are learners themselves. It’s imperative that those who call themselves teachers continue to be learners. None of us will ever learn all that is to be learned. Each of us has the capacity to continue to seek knowledge, to ask questions and to ignite curiosity in ourselves and others. Learning for life is preparation for the future and is the best standard we can set for students in our schools.

Who are you?

05 Thursday May 2016

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blog DNAYou might think of WMS as a small independent Montessori school. You might think that, because we end in sixth grade, our students don’t have access to the same breadth of knowledge of those schools that end in eighth or 12th grades. You might think we are only thinking of “little kid” concerns. You might be wrong. Continue reading →

The Whole and its Parts

21 Thursday Jan 2016

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Montessori quote - teacher universe
I was recently reminded of how important it is to know the “whole” and not simply its discrete parts. A fraction only makes sense when you know the whole. If offered a chance to participate in a 50-50 raffle and 10 people are putting in $1 each, many people would not join in because they can only win $4 more than they contributed. However, if 1,000 people are putting in $1, more may take a chance because they have the opportunity to win more money, even though the odds of them winning are actually lower.

The same is true in school. We live in an age when information inundates us; it is literally at our fingertips. How do we determine what children should know? How do we decide what to teach or how their time in school is structured? We could continue to do what schools did when we were young, and that is what most schools do. Or, we could look at the whole and work together with children to learn about the parts that make up that whole.

Maria Montessori said the teacher and the child must first learn to love and understand the universe. That seems like a daunting task, for the universe is enormous and multifaceted. However, learning about the universe and its enormity helps us begin to understand ourselves in context, or how we make up a part of the whole, for each of us is a critical part of the world in which we live.

It is wonderful to work alongside children who are looking at the world and realizing its vastness while simultaneously recognizing that children throughout the world are a part of the same world, a fractional part of the whole. They recognize the ways in which they are the same and embrace the differences working to fit all of it into the puzzle of the whole world. When children have the opportunity to ask questions, delve deeply into something that matters to them, manipulate ideas and wonder “what if,” they are learning. Through this discovery, they recognize their part and that they matter. One drop of water is a minuscule amount. Many drops taken together sustain life. Our children make up the whole that will create and form our future. Recognizing the importance of the whole world and not just their tiny corner matters.

Reading, Writing and… More

07 Thursday Jan 2016

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“Reading and writing should be the floor, not the ceiling.”
– Yong Zhao

Room 19 - Dioramas 2The past two weeks have brought time to reflect and catch up on some reading. As I’ve done so, I was moved by the statement above. Yong Zhao is the Presidential Chair and Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education in the College of Education at the University of Oregon. I heard Dr. Zhao speak at a Learning and the Brain Conference a few years ago and have been captivated by his thinking ever since. He is not only entertaining; he also understands the challenges our students will face in a rapidly changing world.

“Reading and writing should be the floor, not the ceiling.” Reading and writing are the basis of an educated populace; our goal is that all of our citizens are able to read and write. That is not the end game. If it were, how would we compete in a world market? How would we inspire our students to create and innovate? It is not enough to read and write and, I might add, to compute numbers. We need these skills to be able to do so much more.

As we begin 2016 and I consider the goals of students at Wilmington Montessori School and at every school, what I know is that the children are at the center of what we do and why we are here. Children are eager to learn, to ask questions, and to play with materials and ideas. They are naturally curious and willing to try and try again. They are thrilled when they unlock the squiggly lines that make up the words they learn to read and write. They can’t get enough.

Our responsibility is to keep that wonder alive. We must create a strong and sturdy foundation of those skills in order for them to apply them to increasingly challenging and interesting work. We cannot simply pat ourselves on the back when we can prove through test scores or other measures that our children can read and write. We must challenge ourselves to do more. The “more” is creating an atmosphere where learning is valued and everyone is a learner. That is what we strive for each day and each new year at WMS.

Learning is at our core, and learning is not defined by a grade, an age or an ability. It is defined by the very children in our midst. What is it that each child needs to remain engaged and inspired and wanting more? That is the question we ask ourselves each day as we greet the children at WMS.

What is learning?

29 Thursday Oct 2015

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Great Lesson with Arts Integration
What do tai chi, an interpretive arts performance of the Big Bang, pumpkin picking, and a visit to the Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the United Nations have in common? On the surface nothing. In reality everything. Students at Wilmington Montessori School experienced all of these things in the past week. None of them are in the “official” school curriculum, yet each is vital to the education of the children at our school.

When Maria Montessori developed this method of educating children what she realized is that children learn by doing; the hands are the pathways to the brain. She also urged children to “go out” and explore their world; field trips are an essential component of a Montessori education. As children participate in these and so many more activities, they learn more about the world and how it works. They broaden their experiences and ask even more questions. Their curiosity and wonder are awakened; their love of learning continues to be sparked.

Education is not about a specific content or book or exercise. It is about questions, exploration and wonder. It is built each day through experiences in and outside of the classroom. It’s created from opportunities presented and shaped by the child and all who help to guide these experiences. And it never ends.

Preparing for the Future

28 Friday Aug 2015

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Reading this article once again reminds me of the hard work we are doing at Wilmington Montessori School – the work of igniting curiosity and wonder and of keeping alive so that when our students graduate they will take advantage of opportunities to learn, to make mistakes and to discover. Writing as a parent and educator, Jessica Lahey says it much better than I can:

Maybe it’s time to share some truths with her as I figure out where I went astray, and together we can help our kids rediscover their intellectual bravery, their enthusiasm for learning, and the resilience they need in order to grow into independent, competent adults. With a little luck, they will look back on their childhood and thank us; not just for our unwavering love, but for our willingness to put their long-term developmental and emotional needs before their short-term happiness. For our willingness to let their lives be just a little bit harder today so they will know how to face hardship tomorrow.

As we get ready for another school year, let’s work together to allow our children the opportunity to struggle and develop the “bones” needed to face their future.

Happiness

02 Sunday Aug 2015

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HappinessI was catching up on some blogs, saw this engaging picture and had to read more. The post was about happiness; it went on to list things that happy people do. Not too far from the top was this item:

They see like a scientist (with an open mind and objective analysis), think like a farmer (with reverence and interdependence), and behave like an artist (with creativity and disavowment of convention).

There are many other items on the list that you will find interesting – perhaps things that you do or would like to do – but this one made me stop and think. What I have learned about myself during the past few years is that I like to think and learn new things; engaging my mind is relaxing to me. Playing with ideas is fun. I know… most of us recall days in school where we “had to learn” and it was hard, didn’t make sense or appeared irrelevant. If we were lucky we encountered a teacher, a subject or a small area of interest that ignited curiosity and engaged us on a deeper level of learning.

This statement about happy people seeing like a scientist, thinking like a farmer and behaving like an artist is exactly what we strive to do at Wilmington Montessori School each day. Children from the youngest ages have opportunities to approach ideas, familiar and new to them, to notice as much as possible and then consider them and how they relate to their world and the wonder contained there. They interpret ideas in a variety of ways and are asked questions that help them see more deeply and prompt further questioning and understanding. They do this hard work and try to fit their new knowledge into the framework of their world, which expands to include the broader world as they grow. Children are able to see the world with an open mind, to appreciate the connections and dependence between people and our planet, and to approach it with a creative spirit that will lead to solutions that demonstrate an appreciation for and care of our future. That is happiness; that is learning.

Finding a Community of Learners

26 Sunday Jul 2015

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This TED Talk shares New York Times bestselling author John Green’s struggles with school, his love of learning and his suggestion that perhaps learning today looks different than ours did when we were in school. He speaks of his attendance at a new school as a sophomore in high school:

“And all at once I became a learner. And I became a learner because I found myself in a community of learners. I found myself surrounded by people who celebrated intellectualism and engagements, and who thought that my oh-so-cool disengagement wasn’t clever or funny, but, like it was a simple and unspectacular response to very complicated and compelling problems. And I started to learn, because learning was cool.”

At WMS our students don’t have to wait to locate their community of learners. They are surrounded by them. John Green’s talk reminds us of what is important, what feeds our curiosity, our intellect and ignites our passions.