INSTILLING THE LOVE FOR LEARNING IN CHILDREN

Recently I recognized something really interesting about the children in my classroom - if given the opportunity, they chose to learn something new rather than have playtime outside. If children do something they are not supposed to do, teachers are taught to deploy so-called classroom management; they assign jobs to each child, or apply time-outs, etc. I have found a more effective way which does not impose anything on them, but relies instead on their ability to choose; I tell them if they continue to behave this way, I won’t be able to take the time to prepare new learning activities, and when they hear that, they stop and say: ‘OK, Miss Sibel’ and willingly calm down.

How did we get to this point, where a connection has been created in the child’s mind between learning and a sense of happiness? I believe from an early age, we mimic what we see around us, and children will mimic teachers’ behavior around learning, and then internalize it. This is a daily process; every morning I leave my personal life in the cloak room, and repeat my motto, which is; the children will repeat not what I say, but what I do. This is a golden rule; throughout the day, when I teach or guide them, I express happiness and interest in learning. When I have learned something recently that supplements what I already know, I share that with the children, and express my excitement about having learned this. That enthusiasm and happiness has to be very explicit, and is expressed in my words, my body language, my actions. Over time they start mimicking that behavior, and then internalize the feeling that’s behind it. I in turn acknowledge the enthusiasm of the children, and show appreciation for their growing love of learning.

This attitude also implicitly says that my knowledge is not complete in any way, and that the process of learning never stops. There is always more to learn. I am not the authority who has absolute knowledge and is willing to share that with them – no, I keep on learning more just as much as they do, and am willing to share with them what I have just learned. Knowing they don’t know then also becomes a tool to continue to develop themselves.

Children have an amazing capacity to observe, learn and internalize, but what don’t have enough reference points to compare new knowledge against – this is what is gradually developed and as adults we compare newly acquired information and knowledge against what we already know. That’s why teachers have an amazing opportunity to install these reference points in their children, which can form a foundation for their future, and develop their intelligence.

It’s wonderful and satisfying to see the reactions of children when they have successfully learned something; they sometimes all burst into applause after having accomplished something - they are really congratulating themselves on having achieved and mastered something. For me as a teacher that feels like a miracle…