Thursday, March 13, 2014

Quote-A-Day: Day 72

In , there is no or . Just continuous .

I believe we spend too much time looking for right answers.  When it comes to learning, there isn't anything that is wrong or right.  It is all about the learning that takes place and simply getting better.

Yet, the current structure of our school system doesn't seem to champion this idea.  Instead, a focus on grades, and what equates to a "right answer" is often spotlighted.

While there are some answers that are truly "right," and while there is some rationale to grades,  the majority of the work we do falls into the gray area that isn't so much about being right/wrong or a hard/fast performance status as it is about growth.  We have to view learning as an act of constant forward motion, learning as we go, and developing ourselves along a never-ending timeline.

If society accepted more of a continuous improvement perspective than one that simply celebrates who can be "correct" most often, I have no doubt that we would learn more and worry less.  While we can't control all of society, we can change the way our schools look at learning.  Simply put, we need to make sure that we are focused on the process and not the outcome.  We want members of society who love the art and act of learning and who use outcomes to learn even more.

So it's about priorities, in a sense.  When it comes to learning, is our priority the destination or how we get there?  Can it be both?  What do you think?

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