My 6-year-old knows how our Subaru works – push the button to make it go. My 9-year-old knows how to get anywhere – open the app and do what it says. I’m ok with this because they’re not responsible for shepherding a 3600 pound vehicle through city streets lined with people. My kids may not ever even need to drive – they may be shuttled around by cars that are summoned by a tap and exited with a swipe.
But they will learn.
Last March the College Board changed the SAT to reflect a changing world. On the new digital test, students are allowed to use a built-in graphing calculator called Desmos, a phenomenal tool. Punch in an equation and it will solve it; type in a function and you get a graphical representation. I still teach the underlying math because being able to correctly use tools requires understanding the context in which the tool is meant to operate. It’s a decent idea to know at least a little of what you’re doing.
School is supposed to teach kids about the world and how it works. Kids want to do this anyway – it’s literally what they’re evolved to do. When they spend a few minutes crushing a cardboard box they’re learning material science, gravitational physics, geometric thinking in two and three dimensions, structural engineering. They then get to answer the creative question of what can you do with a bunch of mostly flat cardboard? Minute for minute this has got to be one of the best returns on time from an educational perspective ever. Plus, it’s fun.
So often school focuses on deeply abstract concepts that feel removed from the systems in which the kid operates. Graphing a systems of linear equations without experiential relevance is basically meaningless, no matter how many word problems they read about buying x blackberries and y mangoes from two different stores. Without experiencing the reality of systems they’re working within, kids end up learning disparate pieces of random information without understanding the connections that create their world. They may not even learn what plants really crave.
Over the past couple of years I’ve been building a middle school for boys that focuses on a systems approach to learning. How does water get in and out of the house? Where did it come from and where does it go? How are clothes made? How does photography work? Every unit must tie into state standards, but more importantly everything we teach must:
- Be a skill they can improve on
- Be regularly observed in the real world
- Be useful
- Behave according to some underlying principle
- Exist within a broader systemic context
Despite driving as soon as I was able, I didn’t learn how an engine works until I pursued my pilot’s license. The FAA, and common sense, won’t let anyone fly who doesn’t have a strong understanding of the systems in an airplane and how they interconnect. Aside from being required, it’s also fun to learn about this stuff. Understanding the connections between alternator, battery, and engine in a Cessna helped me in my Subaru as well. Last month my car wouldn’t start, so I popped the hood and my son and I took a quick look. After a few minutes of cleaning the battery terminal I hopped back in, pushed the button, and made it go.
The Misorganized Mind 