what we do what we mean by 'learning'
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What do we mean by 'learning'?
At the Highland School, the idea of ‘learning’ goes beyond the classroom—children learn, think, remember, process, and analyze information in different ways, at different times, in different environments, to the extent that they are motivated.
For children at The Highland School, the criteria used to judge whether something is worth learning is whether it seems useful or desirable or interesting to the individual student. There is no tracking of students into higher or lower groups based on their ‘abilities.’ No one holds anyone back from anything due to being stuck in a classroom with other kids attempting to learn the same thing at the in the same way at the same pace—learning is an individual’s prerogative.
It is literally impossible to entice, to cajole, or to discipline a child into maturity. Maturity and personal responsibly can only be learned with freedom, time, and the democratic process. Respecting that fact allows children to appreciate that they are individually responsible for what they know now and for the rest of their lives.
What we have found, over and over again for 30 years at The Highland School, is that children are born curious and motivated to learn and explore. For anyone who has been around babies and toddlers, their curiosity is obvious. This does not change when they begin a structured pre-school or kindergarten. When children have ‘problems’ in those early grade levels and don’t want to sit still and listen to their teachers, they are expressing a natural tendency to explore in an environment that requires them to reign in their own inclinations. As they get older, these problems can become internalized, regular, and more difficult for children and parents.
Alternatively, the students who, for various reasons, perform well in traditional schools don’t realize the downside of their structured education until they have successfully navigated it, graduated from it, and entered the ‘real world’. It is only at that point that many admit that much of their education was pointless. Others are left lacking in important abilities: confidence, self-direction, and the ability to move on after failure.
This, of course, is only to recognize a fact many of us know from experience: you only really learn what you’re interested in—everything else fades away. Whether our students are in classes or investigating the creek or debating a friend, they are always pursuing something they view as meaningful and relevant and interesting.
