Intro
Einstein said “Education is that which remains when one has forgotten everything one learned in school.” He alludes to forgetting content but not to forgetting how one was made to feel at school; I suspect, perhaps more than anything else, that is actually what remains.
What first hooked you onto your subject? What gave you that passion? How a subject makes us feel is crucial to our relationship to it. I worry that we too often leave our students emotional connections to our subjects to chance instead of finding explicit ways to create positive experiences.
The Good with the Bad
How often do we discuss how we want our students to feel? If it is our aim for students to become enthralled by our subject and develop a passion for it then emotions must be part of the discussion; the good and the bad. The joy of solving a maths problem is only enhanced by the struggle and turmoil that precedes it. The thrill of a win in sport is compounded by knowing the feeling of loss.
We need to ensure that we do not mollycoddle our students throughout their entire schooling giving them a sterlised and safe one-note experience. For without experiencing struggle, success is numbed. Without knowing sadness, one cannot appreciate joy. I worry in the past I have been guilty of this.
Every curriculum I’ve ever seen orders topics and skills. Not a single one talks about how they want their students to feel. Does yours? (If it does I’d love to see it). I’m sure most teachers would say they want students to feel certain ways but without making this explicit and mapping it out as a team I wonder how often this is achieved. Do you? Have you?
How does it make you feel?
How does doing your subject make you feel? Not when you teach it, but when you actually do it. What are the strongest emotions it can elicit?
I think the answers here vary subject-to-subject:
Maths – frustrated, surprised, proud, confused…
History – empathetic, optimistic, pessimistic, connected…
PE – exhausted, satisfied, proud, part of a team…
Art – creative, free, mindful, shook, pensive…
What would it be for your subject? If one of the above, what would you add? What would you change? Please add in the comments on to this very empty thread.
Entitlement
This should not require students to reach a certain level. If I want students to feel resilient in maths I can find a task designed for that purpose for any current attainment level. The same goes for making them feel surprised, happy, proud, stuck….
It might not be a tangible or measurable aim. It might not be something you can assess in a topic-test but it doesn’t make it not worthwhile.
Einstein said “Education is that which remains when one has forgotten everything one learned in school.” – he never mentioned forgetting how one felt; I suspect, more than anything else, that is actually what remains.
I’m always interested in what people make of this so please feel free to comment with thoughts, questions or incomplete musings. Follow this or my Twitter account Teach_Solutions for similar content in the future. Also, check out the rest of this site, there’s some good stuff knocking about the place.
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