The objective of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.
- Robert M. Hutchins
- Robert M. Hutchins
![Picture](/uploads/8/0/4/6/8046245/8420257.jpg?305)
I believe that for a student to reach their full potential, the student, teacher and parents must be actively involved in the education of the student. As the picture to the left illustrates, I view education as a partnership between the student, teacher and parents.
Learning in Today's Classroom
For a person (not just students) to successfully learn a skill or a concept, there are three factors that must be present:
1) MOTIVATION TO LEARN: There must be a motivation to learn or the person will simply not be interested in moving forward with the skill or concept. For example, a person may want to learn how to snowboard. The person is motivated to learn a new winter skill! What motivates students to learn? (The million dollar question!)
2) AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE: The snowboarder needs to spend time at the ski hill to learn, balance, make mistakes, learn from mistakes and generally "figure out" how to stand on a board and slide down a hill on snow. The instructor (and sometimes fellow snowboarders) help, correct and encourage the snowboarder when he/she is learning. However, the snowboarder still has to have the motivation to continue learning even when the sport seems very challenging, or even frustrating (perseverence and determination!) Like the snowboarder, the student needs time to practice in the classroom and at home. The teacher, (and sometimes classmates & parents) help, correct and encourage the student when he/she is learning.
3) CHALLENGE: The snowboarder has now mastered the beginner runs! They need more of a challenge to stay motivated and keep enjoying the sport. He or she can seek out the more challenging runs or ski hills. The student also needs to be challenged once they have mastered certain skills or concepts.
For a person (not just students) to successfully learn a skill or a concept, there are three factors that must be present:
1) MOTIVATION TO LEARN: There must be a motivation to learn or the person will simply not be interested in moving forward with the skill or concept. For example, a person may want to learn how to snowboard. The person is motivated to learn a new winter skill! What motivates students to learn? (The million dollar question!)
2) AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE: The snowboarder needs to spend time at the ski hill to learn, balance, make mistakes, learn from mistakes and generally "figure out" how to stand on a board and slide down a hill on snow. The instructor (and sometimes fellow snowboarders) help, correct and encourage the snowboarder when he/she is learning. However, the snowboarder still has to have the motivation to continue learning even when the sport seems very challenging, or even frustrating (perseverence and determination!) Like the snowboarder, the student needs time to practice in the classroom and at home. The teacher, (and sometimes classmates & parents) help, correct and encourage the student when he/she is learning.
3) CHALLENGE: The snowboarder has now mastered the beginner runs! They need more of a challenge to stay motivated and keep enjoying the sport. He or she can seek out the more challenging runs or ski hills. The student also needs to be challenged once they have mastered certain skills or concepts.