Learning

Following on from yesterday's post, I have been thinking about one of those Home Education Frequently Asked Questions: what will you do when they don't want to learn? My answer, honed over a few years and much thought, is that I would rush them to a doctor immediately as I would be extrememely concerned for their health. My children (and I am sure they are not unique) are voracious learners and will study a subject that interests them with passion and commitment. My middle son pores over the Rules Book for 'The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Games' for hours, he knows his Lego in depth and can indentify which set any piece belongs to, he pushes himself hard to achieve a personal best most weeks in a 5k time trial or to reach the next level of a computer game.

I believe the questioner usually means, "What will you do when they don't want to learn what you want them to?" While I am uncomfortably aware that this flies in the face of conventional schooling, I increasingly feel that if they don't want to learn something then that is because it is the wrong thing or the wrong time. While I do my best to provide educational experiences which I think they will enjoy, benefit from and be developed by, I accept my limitations that I can never see into their minds to know what they are ripe to receive. If something is absorbing them they I assume that is the right thing for them at the right time. Anything thing else feels like seed on the rocky ground.