For the Love of Learning

Recently, I was working with a Mom who was contemplating holding her 11-year old daughter back a grade. The school was recommending it, as her daughter was far behind in math. Her daughter had started school early and, therefore, was a bit younger than the other kids. Mom wanted to do what was best for her child, but was at a loss as to what that was.

Prior to becoming a parent coach, I spent quite a number of years teaching kids in the classroom. Through the years, I had taught a handful of kids who were repeating the grade. The stigma was something that they carried the entire year. The teachers perceived these kids as the troubled ones who weren't successful or motivated and the students perceived them as stupid. The goal, however, was for these kids to somehow learn what they missed the first time around and be back on track with everyone else the following year. Not once did I see this happen. More importantly, the entire approach misses the boat of what education truly means.

What we, society and the school systems most often neglect to address is the concept of loving to learn. How many of us can say that our kids love learning? How many of us loved school, as a kid? How often have you been excited about learning something new, as an adult, simply because it was something that truly held your interest? Why isn't this something we value and instill in our kids when they are young?

For the mom who was deciding to hold her 11-year old back a grade, I asked her to consider if and how holding her back was going to instill in her daughter a love of pursuing new knowledge and new ideas. Was holding her back something that would ultimately be in her best interest, or ours?

We tend to define education in terms of grades, standards and classrooms. I would like to suggest that we begin redefine learning and education. True learning is not about collecting a certain number of facts and meeting predetermined standards. The love of learning is something that is innate in all of us. We are born interested in the world and excited about exploring it. What are you doing to make sure that your child doesn't lose that curiosity and enthusiasm about life?