5 Lines on Leaving Formal Education
& Brief Praise for The 7W Book
Printable PDF Experiential Learning
“Thank you so much for sharing [The Seven Ways]… I loved the line [by the creativity-filled Chapter 3 interviewee], ‘someone took…the time to teach me in a way that I needed to be taught.’” – A well-seasoned 3rd grade teacher.
In the Parsha this week (Lev. 9:23), Moshe, a non-Kohen, enters the inner sanctuary with his brother Aharon in order to teach the High Priest how to do a particular complicated service[1]. Why?
This passage highlights the concept of experiential learning. Experiential learning is what Moshe is utilizing, and it is an extremely powerful and effective tool. To relate to words in a book is far more distant from our being than seeing how items are manufactured
and salesmanship conducted.
It would be a wonderful improvement if students in our schools could spend more time doing hands-on learning and apprenticeships, in the field which matches their respective skill set, and study other disciplines to attain a functional capability. In other words, a mechanic would learn how to fix machines and an aspiring teacher could apprentice a master educator, and they would both learn how to make advertisements and fliers for their businesses, but not take full-on art courses.
[to order The Seven Ways and be able to assess skill sets with ease click here]
So much of what people do in their jobs is learned in on-the-job training, it seems a bit silly to force our youth to sit still and memorize so much information[2]. While the ability to sit and listen for long hours is a good skill to have, and many jobs require extensive research and paper-writing, most people are doing much different activities in their jobs. Also, people are able to sit for long hours a few years after they are in 1st grade![3]
“I found the book informative, but I especially enjoyed Ch. 3. I am very concerned with the number of students diagnosed with ADD and immediately placed on medication.”
Perhaps not every 1st grader is meant to stay put all afternoon.
May everyone find their way.
IB
Printable PDF Experiential Learning
[1] Rashi
[2] Though I am still in the process of verifying and corroborating, and learning styles theory is not thoroughly proven, several studies show that kinesthetic learners may make up 80% of all school dropouts.
[3] I once substituted 1st grade and I was aghast at the number of hours these little tykes were supposed to spend behind a desk. I felt bad pushing them to stay put for so long.