All parents would agree that they want their children educated, it’s the ‘how’ part that will differ. For most of us it’s safer to have children learn the way we were taught. Letting children learn their way is a scary thought. But child-centered learning has more benefits than traditional learning.
Isn’t it funny how it’s only in education that we expect to ‘teach‘ children i.e. cause them to acquire knowledge/skill? They ‘learn‘ to sit, walk, talk all by themselves – tasks that are inherently more difficult. Yet, we can’t trust them to learn other things their way.
The concept of letting children learn their way came alive for me in our homeschool. My 6 year-old son doesn’t need any prompting to learn about countries and flags. He knows more about countries, their flags, continents etc. more than me; I never had a keen interest in this from a young age! And this he did when he showed an interest and we provided stimulating material for him to follow his current passion.
Common fears in giving up authority
I was also skeptical about approaching education by letting my child lead. Some common fears in relinquishing the ‘teacher’ role for parents include:
- Lagging behind: Not following a set curriculum feels like your child is lagging behind somehow; like they are not learning what their peers are learning. Sometimes it may even feel like they are not doing anything at all!
- Labelled with learning disabilities: Society is quick to put labels on anything ‘different’ from the norm or set standards. No parent wants their child to be labelled negatively. Such labels also affect the child, with the possibility of ending up what they were not initially. Especially when it comes to reading.
- Lack of structure: When there is no definite structure it feels like the learner is not learning at all. You can’t really explain what they are learning because it’s not in neat boxes tagged Math, Science, Language.
- Fear of the unknown: If it’s not the norm then there is just a fear that cannot be named. Like what if it doesn’t work? What if we are making a mistake? What if?
- Fear of judgement: We all want to fit into society comfortably. Being different is often frowned upon.
Advantages of letting children lead
The good news is that all children have capacity to learn. They naturally hunger to learn, but the system dictates methods, often ignoring their unique learning styles. Despite misgivings, focusing on a child’s interests is the best. Here’s why:
- Children will learn more quickly what they like: Let’s face it, school is more fun when you are excelling. And you are likely to excel at what you enjoy! Time will pass by so quickly when there is fun in an activity.
- No pressure on parent and child: When the learner is enjoying themselves there is no pressure on both ends! A learner who is in control is proactive, and easy to work with.
- You won’t coax them to an activity: The amount of cajoling that we do for children to ‘learn’ is something else. Children learn more effectively when they’re on their feet than when they’re sitting down and completing worksheets.
- Enhanced creative thinking: Encouraging a free learning environment allows a child to explore beyond certain bounds. Emphasizing test scores, assigning too much busy work, and rushing to finish the curriculum stifles students’ creativity.
- Critical thinking: When a parent/teacher is not too quick to offer solutions and assistance the learner exercises critical thinking. Allowing them to think through things leaves deeper impressions, and a longer lasting knowledge.
- Probability of rounded learning: In real life, subject content interconnects. Most learning is actually incidental rather than planned.
- Emotional intelligence increased: When students have autonomy over what they learn they have a greater sense of responsibility. They are better able to express themselves and are confident.
Trust your child enough to lead in their education. We just need to just offer a warm, stimulating environment for learning to take place. That makes the journey enjoyable for everyone!
