Learning IS a learning
If you’re new here you might not know that I have a circus school but I’m also a certified life coach. Really,
I mostly mentor youth.
I always tell people that I am really teaching kids how to be amazing humans and if they learn a little circus along the way, that’s great too!
As a result, my students come to me with all kinds of life concerns and the fact that they come to me is an honour, and one that I take very very seriously.
I make time.
I had a student exchange the other day that got me thinking about learning. And how learning is a learning. To be an effective learning they need to know how they learn, not just what we want them to learn.
I had a student come to me the other week and she was talking to me about school and how she had a test in school that day. I asked her how she felt it went and she told me she didn’t know yet.
I asked again, OK but how did it feel?
She then proceeded to tell me that she was sure she had not done as well as her friend.
Again I asked her, I wanna know about you feel about the test.
Finally…..I feel like it could have gone better.
Now we were talking about her!
I asked her if she could go back in time a week, would she do anything differently to get ready for the test.
This is where her frustration, and my ah-ha moment came in.
She told me she studied really hard all week in preparation for the test and still did not feel like she had not done well. I just don’t feel like I learned the material.
We talked about how the first thing learning should be about, is learning.
Not every kid learns the same way.
Not every kid will get the same results from the same study methodology.
As parents. As teachers. As mentors.
Our first job is to help them learn how they learn. Then we can worry about what they learn!
Expecting kids to learn the way we learn.
Expecting kids to learn the way we like to teach.
That’s like expecting them to sleep with their heads on the textbook instead of the pillow and wake up knowing algebra!
Let’s change our teaching to help kids identify how they learn. Then what will be a much less challenging pursuit for everyone!
