"Teachers need to teach and students need to learn" I hear my husband saying this often. And its true. But do we really think about what it means?
Teachers can be teaching a structured lesson in varied ways, but if the student in us does not show up to learn, how will a knowledge transfer, and ultimately expansion, take place?
Like its the same as leading a horse to water, but not being able to coerce him to drink the water. When kids don't learn we want to blame the teachers immediately, without thinking perhaps the issue is the preparedness of the student to learn.
There are so many factors to consider with children these days. Now that there is so much more awareness that children may have more on their plates than we previously thought. With less generational support than before more parents are raising kids in silos with strangers as caregivers in a lot of cases and with life decisions feeling more transactional, those children watching may feel more anxious and also more threatened by increasing violence and promiscuity that they observe.
Plus, there are the usual problems of being adequately feed, safely housed and cared for. Whether they are getting enough sleep, attention and all these other details would come up for children who need to learn and who may feel powerless to change negative situations they experience.
How can we prepare them?
Continue to show them alternatives.
Look, even I have not been the best student when I had the chance to be. I mean information is now more available than ever, but I still lack skills needed to navigate certain fundamentals for my own life. Not because there were no good teachers. There are so many of them! But I wasn't tuned in.
There are books, videos podcasts, blogs... so much information, we are drowning in its depths and still learning even less than before. The truth is, each day we have 24 hours and our attention will be captured by whatever stands out to us based on our need in the moment. And each moment can and does vary in need. This competition for attention makes building better skills for life a harder game to win. Harder... but not impossible.
As soon as we are aware of our ability to decide our own path, it makes it a little easier to return focus to things that teach us the fundamental lessons.
Kids have yet to learn in this way. They generally don't have the life experience to arrive at these conclusions. They have far more options for learning and to learn school lessons seem less important. Now, the school is demanding they learn more to equip them with tools for this modern era. But where is their attention? Elsewhere...
And where are the teachers?
Still there.
Competing with all the tools for the same attention.
Some they will win some they won't.
Thank goodness that learning can happen at any time. So as long as there is life we can catch up.
As always, these are my thoughts on the matter.
So what do you think?
How do you think the teachers are doing with the teaching?
And what of the students? Do they also have a responsibility to learn what is being taught?