WHat have you learned lately?

Learning is at the heart of what we do in education. It is the very pulse of education; its beats can be felt in the curriculum we deliver, the environment we share, the life lessons we talk about, and in what we come to understand about our self. When we learn something, it means that something has changed; we have a new understanding that we didn't have before the learning happened. A new synapse is created in the brain. What have you learned lately?

Now, think about how you learned that thing? I mean it - think about how you learned the thing. Write it down on a piece of paper, or a sticky note.

Did you read to learn? Did someone show you how to fix something? Did you practice a new skill? Did you make a mistake? Did you experience failure? Did you feel uncomfortable? Did you listen to something? Did you get your hands messy? 

Learning requires us to step outside our comfort zone; it requires vulnerability; it requires risk; resiliency; resolve. When we reflect on these requirements, it can help us plan learning activities. Plan activities that allow students to step out of their comfort zone, to challenge themselves, to think critically, and to create. 

A few weeks ago I spent a day in the woods with a friend cutting wood for one of our nordic club's warm-up huts. He showed me how to operate a chain saw. He showed me how to safely fall a tree. I watched, I listened, I observed - but the real learning happened when I took up the chainsaw and made the first cut, and the next. With each cut I felt my confidence growing, but I was also keeping cognizant of the importance to take it slow and be safe.

It made me reflect on learning: we can watch, listen, and observe; but we also have to pick up the saw and make the cut. Let's make sure we give students a chance to pick up the saw, to make a cut, and to instill in them the desire to want to pick it up again and keep practicing until they master the art. That's the stuff of learning. That's the stuff of education.  

Thanks for reading,

​R. Churchill