"I Don't Like The Word Learning."
A few weeks ago my 10 year old declared "I don't like the word learning."
"What's a word you would prefer to use instead?"
He sat for a moment in contemplation.
"Discover.
I would use the word discover instead of learning or education. To discover something is exciting, and something you choose, not something you are told you have to do."
This is the kind of magic that happens when you trust your child, when you give them space to express themselves authentically, and when you give yourself permission to live a life of endless possibilities.
Let's look at some definitions (Cambridge dictionary):
Education - the process of teaching or learning, especially in a school or college, or the knowledge that you get from this
Learning - knowledge or skill acquired by instruction or study
Discovery - the process of finding information, a place, or and object, especially for the first time
If you look at the first 2 definitions, they have something in common: that some form of external factor is involved.
Learning is something that does occur naturally, however, it is so entrenched in outcomes thanks to the education system, that the process doesn't seem to matter anymore, as long as the results are there. Numerous studies have proven that memorising and regurgitating facts (i.e. rote learning) has no determination on what the student learns. Children are merely demonstrating their memory recall skills (don't believe me, listen to episode 53 and 35 of the podcast)
When I see the word discover, I feel freedom, joy, aliveness, curiosity, and a deep sense of intrinsic interest and motivation.
In a study conducted in the 1960s requested by NASA, researchers discovered that school children lose their natural ability to think creatively the more time they spend within the school system:
98% of 5-year-olds tested at the “genius” level
They tested the same children at 10 years old, the percentage of genius-level imaginative and innovative thinkers fell to 30%.
At age 15 the genius-level of the same students had dropped to 12%
Only 2% of adults still retain their ability to think imaginatively, with creativity and innovation
Their conclusion: the education system is responsible for dumbing down humanity.
If this is something that interests you I highly recommend Free to Learn by Dr Peter Gray and Dumbing Us Down by John David Gatto (read more about their books here)
When my son told me he prefers the word DISCOVER, I listened, I reflected and I realised how far we are yet to come as a society.
When we think about it, discover is exactly what we do. Once we discover something, we move on to the next discovery, or we dig deeper to discover more about a particular interest.
Life is fluid, flexible, adaptable, possible.
It is not something that should be rigid, structured, outlined or riddled with outcomes.
To do that, is to deprive ourselves of embodying the very creative beings that we are.
What a cruel disservice are we subjecting our children and ourselves to when we educate and force them to learn what is dictated to them by the education system.
Let's discover life, the way we were born to.
This is permission to live life the way you want to live it.
If you don't like a particular word, don't use it.
If your child wants to create entirely new words, let them.
Just because something is labelled as a 'norm' does not make it right.
Normal is not a reflection of who a person is, or the potential of what they are yet to become, in their own time and in their own way.
I choose to live a life of discovery, authenticity and adventure.
That involves shutting doors, going against the flow, rocking boats and saying 'no' to many societal norms.
It's not a well-trodden path.
But then again the best paths in life are the ones yet to be discovered.