#BTColumn – Curiosity and persistence matter

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today.

by Julia Hanschell

My response to a friend’s Facebook post this week was, ‘The truth is that the world was always heading in the online school direction. It just became a necessity before it was designed properly with infrastructure in place, training, programmes and social challenges examined for solutions. We’re now on crutches (and will be for some time) trying to catch Usain Bolt in the 100.’

One of the main stumbling blocks within our current remote learning dilemma, is testing and exams. A myriad of loopholes exist that question the validity and reliability of assessment. But haven’t they always?

Linked to my thoughts is this quote from a post by Ben Cichy, ‘ I got a 2.4 GPA my first semester in college. Thought maybe I wasn’t cut out for Engineering. Today I’ve landed two spacecraft on Mars and designed one for the Moon. STEM is hard for everyone. Grades ultimately aren’t what matters. Curiosity and persistence matter.’

Inspiring curiosity in students and motivating them to persist have always been the basic tools of genuine learning, and life success. Yet they were never our targets to be honest; just accidental luxuries of the few who are inherently
gifted with them.

Our academic focus ignores them completely.

Syllabii are so extensive that we cram in and test information retained, rather than build a search engine in our students’ consciousness to want to relentlessly seek knowledge that will guide them to their passion. Our students have no, ‘Why’ and consequently have no, ‘How’.

In fact, they do not even have a ‘What’. They only have a, ‘Want’ for grades. Proof of competence that will move them to the next level.

Yet, we have, right now, a golden opportunity to redesign and reform education in its entirety without reinventing the wheel; we merely need to utilize the learning systems other countries have created.

Take Finland, which ‘is leading the way because of common-sense practices and a holistic teaching environment that strives for equity over excellence.’ (https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/10- reasons-why-finlands-education-system-is-the-best-in-the-world)

The ingredients are simple and few, all designed for optimum learning and reduced stress for administrators, teachers, parents and students.

Finnish students start school at seven years old and they take ONE standardized test during their entire school life. Students spend about 2.8 hours a week on homework and enjoy free time to play after forty- five minutes of learning.

The teaching profession has incredibly high entry standards – a minimum of a Master’s Degree. Teachers are highly paid and teach fewer hours so that they devote considerable time to lesson planning for students on an individual level.

There is cooperation, rather than competition between students and vocational training is considered as important as an academic pathway at upper secondary level. Rather than subjects, there are matrixed topics, driven by real-world problems to explore and creatively consider through exciting curiosity and persistence.

The focus is to grow a generation of THINKERS, with the zest for lifelong learning.

There is no choice, as Barbadian schools have in subject ‘bands’, so that the poor reader can escape the pain of Literature or History. The poor reader has had intervention very early on and every subject is integrated with every other from the age of seven. Thinking is not paused because of weaknesses.

No one can avoid Maths or writing, Physics, Spanish or Geography because ‘these are not for them’.

Subjects are so inextricably linked there is no escape from broad, intersected learning.

Which brings me back to online learning, which is the perfect platform for this.

However, we have simply extended classroom practices to online and it is failing dismally.

We spend so much time testing to prove the teacher is effective, we have no time to inspire creativity and persistence to prove the student is growing as a learner. And parents have to share in this quagmire we have created; they want proof of achievement and they want it measured with a grade.

Surely observing what their child simply does in the home environment, whether with homework or in class, is all the proof they need that learning is, or is not, happening in an involved and meaningful way. Let’s be honest here.

We all want children to be happy and to find their place in the world. We all know this takes investment from every party involved. We know a team is only as strong as its weakest link. We are adept at casting blame and short on accepting responsibility for our part. And we, in Barbados, are spectacularly good at throwing our hands in the air, complaining while waiting for someone to fix what is not working.

In the absence of a relevant educational environment there is chaos and failure.

In the current system we have, any single, positive action we take will impact change. If teachers and parents were to jointly focus on creativity and persistence, the former teaching beyond curriculum at every opportunity, and the latter monitoring home activities as consistently as possible, we will be setting up our children for success.

Let us be resolute in this: “When the atmosphere encourages learning, the learning is inevitable.”

Julia Hanschell can be contacted on smartstudying @gmail.com.