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In my experience, a lot of students simply rely on the “feeling” that they understand something. It’s similar to the “feeling” people get about whether they are getting enough exercise. But, just like exercise, learning has to involve some way of determining whether you’re really making progress. Think of learning like exercise and come up with a learning plan just as you would an exercise plan. Since learning is similar to exercise, the benefits we get from it are very similar, if not identical, to those we get from regular exercise. Let's consider some of them using the exercise analogy. 1. Exercise is best done at regular intervals. There are very few benefits to exercising if you only do it once every few months. Likewise, the benefits of studying are best realized when done at regular intervals. Not necessarily every single day but often enough to build on previous sessions and maintain a steady pace of learning. 2. Variety in exercise is beneficial. Most exercise programs consist of various activities to keep interested and work various muscle groups at the same time. Likewise, when learning something it is good to vary what you're learning and how you're learning it. Reading is a good educational activity but so too is watching a video (such as a good TED talk) or practicing an activity. Different learning activities also exercise various parts of your thinking muscle (i.e. the brain) just as different exercises work different muscle groups. 3. Exercises contain some form of resistance. I find that when I begin to question what students say in class they become frustrated. They are not used to having their ideas and opinions challenged and they don't like it. But, from an exercise theory point of view, this is a necessary part of education. Just as most exercises derive their benefit from exposing the body to resistance (weight training is a good example) so too education requires resistance. Asking students to justify their claims, back up their opinions with evidence, or explain their answers in a paper or exam are forms of resistance that further and deepen learning. 4. Exercises have specific as well as general benefits. Most exercises have very specific benefits such as strengthening specific muscles, toning specific body parts, or increasing stamina. Exercise also has more general benefits such as increasing overall health and well-being. Education can be seen in the same light. There are specific benefits to learning such as the specific skill or content being learned. But, there are also more general benefits that are just as important. Such benefits include being more well-rounded, gaining an appreciation and deeper understanding of the world at large, and improving one's social skills. Like exercise, education can be hard and feel exhausting at times. We don't always feel like getting up early to work out or do whatever exercise we have chosen. But, we usually do so because we recognize the benefits that come from exercise. And, most people who exercise regularly also do so because they enjoy it. If only we as parents and educators could encourage the same attitude towards education! Here are some other tips to improve your learning. "When I was a child, I LOVED learning. I would go through kindergarten, first and second grade excited to go home and practice what we learned in class. However, due to the school system, by the time I graduated high school, it became a chore. How do I re-ignite my childlike desire to learn?"
Asked to answer on Quora.com Sad to say, school often has that effect. I would suggest taking some time and thinking about what you’re really interested in. What are you curious about? Is there anything you want to learn more about that you’ve not had the chance to? If so, begin there. You might also try looking at some other resources for learning that are less “school-like.” There are some great resources online that you can check out including: TED: Ideas worth spreading The Kid Should See This Open Culture - The Best Free Cultural and Educational Media on the Web Asked to Answer on Quora.com
This is a wonderful prospect to consider and I wish people were working on how to scale up homeschooling. There are so many people working to improve an educational model that is failing many students and it will continue to fail them not because they can’t get the details right in how to do school but because many kids simply don’t thrive in the overly structured, rule-oriented environment of schools. In my college teaching career, I saw many students who were unhappy to be in the classroom. They lacked curiosity and interest in anything. They didn’t get that way overnight and they didn’t get that way by playing and living. They got that way, in large part, from schooling. There are many questions that people have about homeschooling that prevent more people from exploring this option for themselves or from advocating it for others. Questions like: How will they learn socialization? How will they learn what they need to learn? How will they learn to follow rules, get up to an alarm, and show up on time? The answer to these questions and others is that kids will learn these things, without coercion, when they see a need to know them and are given the tools to help them learn them. School seems to proceed on the assumption that without coercion kids simply won’t learn these things. Practicing homeschoolers illustrate that this is simply untrue. I think if more people were open to homeschooling their kids we would see many benefits not only to our kids as individuals but to society as a whole. First and foremost we would see happier less stressed kids. That’s huge. We would see more curiosity, more interest in problem-solving, more love of learning. We would see more innovation, better socialization, closer families, closer communities. More productive workplaces. Happier workplaces. People embrace and create the life they wish to live instead of enduring the life that is forced upon them. Is that too Utopian? I don’t think so. I suspect many parents are hesitant to investigate homeschooling because they believe they can’t afford to have one parent at home not working. But, more people could do this than currently are doing it. For many, not all I understand but many, it is a question of priorities. Do you want to live in a bigger house and have a fancier car or do you want to have a closer family, happier more curious better-educated kids? There are probably ways to begin thinking about how to scale up homeschooling. Co-ops could invite parents who currently send their kids to schools to use their services. Neighbors could volunteer to teach a class or two and take turns with kids in the neighborhood. Field trips could be organized. Reading groups. I would love to see more work being done on this. Schools should be seen as resources like libraries that people can go to and use as they like when they need them. Not as forced detention camps where students are compelled to attend under penalty of the law. We could still benefit from schools if they were viewed in this way as libraries, but we could then get on with living our lives as families free to learn and enjoy life. Asked to answer on Quora:
A college education can be homeschooled. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages: Advantages: Lower cost: You will not incur massive debt in gaining a college education through homeschooling. You may incur some expenses with books you purchase but the expense will be nowhere near what you would incur in getting a 2 or 4-year degree. More flexibility: By homeschooling your college education you will be able to customize your education in a way that you cannot easily do on campus. You can use many online options to get exposure to a wide variety of classes and professors online and craft your degree. Access to a broader range of scholars: Through websites like Coursera and others you can take MOOCs (massive open online courses) and get exposed to a wider range of scholars than you could in a brick and mortar university. Disadvantages: You can’t earn an official degree: This is a major disadvantage. There is currently no way to certify your education or complete a GED type test to get you an official accredited degree. For many employers, this is still a rather firm requirement of employment and may be the major reason why many are still reluctant to pursue a home-based college education. You will miss out on the college experience: Part of this is what happens in the classroom and it is an important part of your learning. Interacting with others, in particular, those who have different views from you, is a critical part of your education and it won’t be as easy to get this with a home-based approach. You will miss out on the social aspect of college: The other part of the college experience is what happens outside the classroom. This is also a key part of the college experience and will be more difficult to get from a home-based approach. The idea that there might be alternatives to pursuing a conventional college degree is not new but it is still a relatively uncommon notion. However, it is growing in popularity due to one major negative effect that getting your college degree may entail: going deeply into debt. For that reason, many people are now considering other alternatives. As time goes by the idea that college can be done like homeschooling will continue to grow and as alternative ways to certify that learning becomes available, there will be a real alternative to the accredited college degree. For more on these you might find these books interesting: Hacking Your Education by Dale Stephens Better Than College by Blake Boles |