Education does not equal learning

What is it that we are all so concerned about – Education or Learning? My observation, in the simplest of interpretations, is that while the former promises an opportunity for qualification, the latter provides a life we choose or receive by default. Both require degrees of personal involvement and other people, but, for me, education is an external force and learning is an internal response.

As a nation, we have confused these two battling giants, with the consensus that Education must provide qualifications AND Learning, hence, it is mandated by law and provided ‘free’. I see light years between Education and Learning and an absence of the TRUTH which will ‘set us free’.

My grandfather was the eldest of eleven children who were exceedingly poor. His father sacrificed for him to attend Lodge School because he had to ‘Learn’. At the age of eleven, in 1896, his father died and his school days ended. He went out to work to support a family of 15.

In ‘old’ Barbados, by the age of eleven, having literacy and numeracy was adequate enough to make a living. Hard toil, huge sacrifices, and communities helping each other was how they survived. The ‘village’ cared enough to raise each other’s children. There was no government to provide free education, and no entitlement; our ancestors were hard, bold and motivated because there were no options, no handouts and no pity-party.

My great-grandmother, on another side, was registered as an ‘infant slave’ in the census of 1817; her story was equally dire. She was not educated. The Church would baptise her children but would not marry her because she was a slave, so her children were ‘bastards’, barefoot and penniless. This is the Barbados that we had to change through Education, but these generations CHOSE to take control of their own Learning and by extension, the destinies of their descendants.

Today, children have the opportunity for Education and they have never learned less. While chasing qualifications to make their parents proud and to validate their teachers’ efforts, hopefully, some have embraced Learning, but a HUGE percentage have no idea what they want to do with their lives with either Education OR Learning.

How have our children ended up in this quagmire of endless opportunity and directionless lives? Our children’s failure, on a multiplicity of levels, is prevalent because we have INVESTED slowly and steadily in Education rather than Learning. Education HAS failed, and Learning has FAILED.

Two thoughts come to mind. Parents have become ‘hands off’ pointing at teachers that it’s their job to inspire children to succeed through Education. Teachers bemoan that parents are not instilling values at home and supervising the hard work that must be done for effective Learning to take place. Each one is like a farmer, expecting the other to clear the field, extracting the weeds, so they can THEN plant their crops. Too much pointing of fingers, too little collaboration, yet both sides abound with valid truths.

A friend told me, ‘People don’t do what’s expected; they do what’s inspected’. The result? Our society has now reached the point in which chaos is reigning. The time has come to INSPECT and hold both teachers and parents accountable.

I have been accused of my old-fashioned, ‘tough love’ practices, but I see how ‘soft love’ is ruining children at home and making teachers’ lives impossible at school. And I see how the status quo at school is breaking

children’s spirits and decimating their love of Learning. My truth is that I have NEVER, in 25 years, come across a single child who does not want to LEARN. Yet, I see them resist Education daily.

I will leave parenting for another day. Today, I will end with thoughts on solving the quality control within Education. Immediately institute an ANONYMOUS PERFORMANCE REVIEW where STUDENTS EVALUATE their teachers with three questions: Does my teacher effectively control the classroom so that LEARNING happens? Does my teacher teach me in a way that I CAN Learn? Does my teacher CARE that I Learn? Let’s see what their perspective is. And let’s just throw in, for good measure, No. 4: Is my Principal making teachers BETTER so that I WANT to Learn?

There are great teachers in every school who will have excellent Performance Reviews but we all know there is a lot of institutionally protected ‘deadwood’ whose students will tell us the TRUTH. It’s time to set fire to the field of Education so that we can plant the crop of Learning that will feed us and grow our nation.

This year’s theme of Leadercast, on May 7 at the Hilton (call 436-1810), is Positive Disruption. It is the best day of my year where I discover, and commit to working on, my professional inadequacies. It leaves me no choice but to change my outlook. I sincerely hope to see the room packed with teachers. Attendance indicates anyone who is committed to THEIR Learning as it offers no Educational qualifications.

Teachers, I challenge you to stand and COMMIT to CHANGE because the time for TRUTH is NOW. And if not now, WHEN?

Julia Hanschell can be contacted on:

smartstudying@gmail.com