Here is a sampling of things I’ve heard from students of all ages this week:
“We had to read a book and if we felt like putting it down because it was boring, we were told that it was a sign that the class wasn’t for us.”
“I was told that my portfolio wasn’t good enough so I shouldn’t apply to art school.”
“We were told that every student was going to fail this test.”
Last week, when I asked a group of girls I coach for soccer, “How many were looking forward to going back to school?” They gave me looks like “Are you kidding?” No wonder given those quotes above.
When I saw a different group of kids walking down the street after their first day of school and asked them if they learned anything cool or interesting that day, they gave answers like “This year is going to be harder than I thought,” or “I don’t have many friends in my class.” Only one answered the question with any sense of joy, when she remarked “I learned about the economics of housing!”
Now I know it’s the first day of school and most kids reach a “too cool for school” age where admitting they like any aspect of school is a cardinal sin amongst their peers – but still. I also appreciate first hand how hard it is to teach with the myriad of conflicting demands placed on the profession and first weeks are particularly stressful. But still…
I later asked a group of college students how many of their classes they enjoyed throughout their entire education. Most said less than 25%.
I asked the same group of students how many learned to play a musical instrument. While six said they learned to play an instrument because “they had to take lessons” only one still plays today because she enjoys it.
There is a reason they call it schoolwork. It is intended to be challenging and difficult. To test not just our knowledge but our capacities. To help us stretch and grow. But that doesn’t mean it has to be joyless.
While the origin of schoolwork’s more controversial cousin homework is contested, there seems to be two lines of thought. One theory is that an Italian instructor created it to punish his students. The other is that a Greek instructor encouraged his students to practice at home to share what they learned with their families. What does homework feel like in your household?
There are few things as amazing as seeing the spark of joy in someone who has discovered, learned or mastered something. You are left with the sense that that spark will spread both within them and to others. In contrast to the quotes above, we hear things like:
“I learned the coolest thing today.”
“Check this out…”
“Did you know that….”
Or better yet, they come home in a fit of self-directed learning and start looking things up on their own.
So yes, let’s make sure that kids do their schoolwork and learn what we think they need to learn but can we also make more effort to inspire a little more school joy?
Now some may say that “school joy” sounds like an oxymoron. I would contend that “schoolwork” is even more so. Most of us will spend the majority of our life working – because we have to. But how many will continue to have a lifelong love of learning? How many will play the instrument even when we longer have to?
This Week’s Recommendation. Alex Morgan announced her retirement this week in this Instagram post. Morgan inspired our daughter’s love of soccer and to that we are very grateful. Even though there is some sadness in marking the end of her phenomenal career, notice the joy in her quaking voice – particularly when she talks about her own daughter. May we all have the same sense of joy in our own work when it’s over.