“The kind of teaching that comes with schools and ‘parenting’ pushes children towards imitation and away from innovation.” – Alison Gopnik, 2016
This quote along with the rest of the article from Alison Gopnik in What Babies Know About Physics and Foreign Languages really made me stop and think. Is this really what is happening? Are we teaching kids to mimic us instead of letting them think for themselves?
The article focuses on a few studies of babies and how they learn by watching the world around them. Not only did they mimic the adults, but they applied what they saw and used it to their benefit. One thing the article mentioned that stood out to me was in reference to older kids. When children know they are supposed to learn something, they, too, will just mimic the adult. Whether this is in a school setting or at home, the children are not really invested – they are just reproducing what they think is expected of them. On the other hand, children will move into deeper learning and understanding when allowed to ‘play’. This play allows children to create something new, not just doing what they are being told.
My conclusion? We need to let the kids do more exploring in our classrooms. I am already thinking of ways I can have my students ‘play’ and create something new rather than just replicating what I am doing.