When a child moves beyond the ABCs and nursery rhyme phases of early learning, things can start to get tricky if they don’t feel invested or involved in their daily place of education. One of our contributors, Hilary Smith, has written a thought-provoking piece about kids and their feelings about their own educational journeys.
Teachers, parents, and administrators are always looking for the best ways to help students learn. Education has been and always will be an ongoing conversation among those with the authority to make changes within the system. However, very rarely do adults even consider the people that will be directly affected by changes in the system: the students themselves. Kids spend most of their days in school with American children spending 943 hours in the classroom during their primary school years. So then the question remains, if our kids are spending so much of their days in these environments, what do they want out of their education?
- To Be Seen As Contributors – Students want to be seen as active contributors to their education, and not just as sponges sitting at their desks. Students are smart, and want to be able to know they can have the opportunity to create meaningful content. They also want to be involved in their school and education. In an article from The Guardian, several primary school students were asked what they wanted in their perfect school. Many of them mentioned being part of decision-making about what they learn. From involving them in administrative decisions to their choices over what books to read, our kids want to have an investment in their education. They are the ones actually there, and want to feel that they have an important say.
- To Have Involved Teachers And Administrators – According to Kathleen Cushman, author of Sent to the Principal: Students Talk About Making High School Better, students interviewed from various high schools throughout the nation stated that they want not just their teachers to be involved in their education but also administrators, such as their principal. Cushman also mentions that many high school students feel that principals tend to only listen to students that are successful in school, and tend to overlook those that find school difficult. Principals also need to gain trust from their students by not just listening to their interests and concerns, but by taking action based on that feedback.
- To Have Interactive Learning – Kids in today’s Digital Age need more than just lectures and worksheets to stimulate their learning. Kids now more than ever are asking for more interactive learning opportunities. This involves not just teaching our kids how to use computers and technology, but also teaching them why using these tools can help them in their learning. Interactive learning also does not have to necessarily mean adding more computers and tablets to classroom. Many kids want to see how concepts work not just read about them. Especially in STEM subjects (such as science) students want to be active participants in experiments and want to learn through their own physical discoveries.
- To Have Choices – One thing we all know as parents is that kids are smart. They know what they like and dislike. They know what they are interested in and not. Kids also know that they want to be able to make choices in the classroom. They want to have a say in what they read or on the pace of which they spend learning a concept. For teachers this might seem difficult because allowing students this flexibility can deter from the curriculum and state standards that they are mandated to fulfill. However, kids need to be given these choices, somehow, that they so long for in their classrooms. This can help them to become more motivated learners and enhances their autonomous learning. This can include fitting in “free play” time when students find it necessary. Classrooms in Finland have found that students actually are more focused and motivated in their studies because of scheduled “free play” time.
- To Have Real-World Application – As well as having choices in their education, kids want to know why they are learning concepts in the first place. Kids want purpose to their education and want to see where they can apply concepts they learn in school to their real life. Teaching kids how the concepts they learn in school can be used in the real world can motivate them to truly absorb the material. Kids want to know how concepts they learn in school can benefit later on such as in their future careers or higher education. Kids want to learn beyond the classroom and also learn how they can apply the knowledge they learned to their world outside of school.
Overall, kids want to be active participants in the learning process. They want to know that the time they spend in the classroom will benefit in the long run. Kids are curious and with curiosity comes opportunity for learning.
Hilary Smith has parlayed her love of technology and parenting into a freelance writing career. As a journalist, she specializes in covering the challenges of parenting in the digital age. She loves all things tech and hasn’t met a gadget that didn’t spark her interest. She also writes parental articles on things like this one, featured here. The Texas native currently resides in Chicago, IL and braves the winters with her two children, ages 4 and 7.