The Process of Education

Last week, I read new articles about how children gain knowledge. One article shared ideas about children in standardized education. According to the report, many children today lack interest in learning at a very young age.

The article shared that many children dislike math and believe math is a task-focused activity focused on completing worksheets. The children believed math is a collection of numbers and symbols lacking connection to the activities they enjoy. A relationship between learning and using math in the real world is missing.

In primary school, children often receive assigned math worksheets starting in kindergarten. The children explore mathematical concepts by matching images with numbers and simple formulas.

Many of the children in our school-age program dislike math worksheets. Daily, the children sit at a table to work on their homework assignments and express a desire to do anything else. Some people believe this is how all children approach homework, and persevering through a homework assignment creates character.

In my observation, children are completing math worksheets because they have to, and many children struggle to make a connection to the work. The mathematical symbols and images on the page do not spark interest. For learning to come alive, children need to connect to something interesting and creative.

As children play, no one avoids math while building with Lego, creating a pretend store, or counting the levels of a block tower. Activities that children choose to create offer opportunities to explore educational concepts. The child who may not understand or enjoy learning math concepts in school thrives working on a chosen project that incorporates math into the creative process.

Free play offers children the opportunity to make math real. Children use materials and explore math all the time. Concepts like ordering, creating sets, size variation, and counting become tangible during play. Young children use their fingers to examine the idea of numbers. School-age children explore math through play and project work.

In project work, educational concepts come alive as children develop their creative pursuits. Mixing paint, making a necklace, drawing a character, and sewing a costume all use mathematical concepts. Engaging in creative activities invites children to experience numbers. The number then becomes a meaningful symbol. Worksheets tell children math is only essential because of the answer. Applied math tells children what numbers can do to enrich their experience in the world.

Education is a process; there are many ways to engage with numbers and mathematical concepts. One way is through worksheets.

As school-age educators, we have an opportunity to support children and offer materials, space, and time so children can follow their interests. With our support, children can learn math concepts through the creative process.

Empowering the "school of applied knowledge" is essential to our work. As educators, we have a role in the classroom. To help learning concepts come alive through nurturing experiences for children.

Children practice structured learning during the school day. We can offer children opportunities to apply learning to something that has meaning in their lives.