Education

Albert Einstein

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." ~Albert Einstein

Is it possible that Einstein meant that the way he was educated interfered with his education?  I believe it does.  If we consider another quote from Albert, "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education" I believe it reveals that education that prepares students for learning information only to test is on its way to being phased out and becoming replaced with the "curiosity" of Einstein and the critical thinking and life skills for the 21st century classroom. 

How many of us learned in an educational environment that promoted curiosity but stifled it because the teacher had a certain way that they taught the lesson?

Critical Thinking Skills

I know I did.  As I think back to the education I received in public schools and early college experiences.  The 20 to 30 years ago public school classroom was set up to for the teacher to instruct by lecturing, the students did paperwork and then were tested over the material for a final grade and an analysis of knowledge gained.  The early college classrooms and teachers that stick out in my mind seemed to have the teacher in mind that had their own agenda and used lecture time to present their take on the subject matter.  The rest of the work was done by me, the student, as a self study to answer the questions over the material presented in class and retrieved through self study the way the instructor wanted it answered.  It is amazing to me to think that I retained any information at all although I know I did because of teachers who dared to be different.

The teachers that stand out to me were the teachers, who in their time, thought outside the box by incorporating more than just lecturing, more than just studying to take a test, and more than just telling me their version of what they thought I should know.  I remember my 3rd grade teachers:  One who took a T.V. show called PM Magazine and used it to teach us life skills such as team work, research, and communication skills.  We re-enacted and created our own version of the show called AM Magazine.  One of my classmates grew up and is a director of KM3TV news in Omaha.  I dare to say that this teacher's environment created life-long learning! 


My other 3rd grade teacher played Around the World-State Capitols and to this day when I recall what the state capital of a certain state is I remember how we learned the state capitols.  She made memorization fun and presented the state capitol lesson several ways so all the students in her class would learn and remember each and every one! We were a fortunate group of 3rd grade students because we were taught and allowed to be curious about learning.  Our 3rd grade education did not get in the way of our curiosity…..wouldn't Albert Einstein be proud!

As I study learning and teaching styles I find myself curious; curious to know how I will teach my students.  What kind of educational environment will I create?  I struggled a great deal with this blog post because I know what I want for my classroom and students but it is difficult to put into words.  I believe this final Chinese Proverb quote sums up my feelings, "Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand."