I’m thinking that during school needs to be more like after school…
This is a point I really like and thankfully one that I do hear on occasion. But, it seems even people who do understand it fail to place the appreciation on extracurricular activities necessary to take full advantage of them as learning opportunities.
Extracurriculars provide wonderful learning opportunities, however many of these are intangible. I am a much better person due to the leadership skills I gained in the theatre. I can troubleshoot a light blindfolded, and react quickly to a wide range of athletic injuries. These are things that I learned outside of the classroom. And, these skills (among others) are not just limited to those activities. The ability to work through a problem systematically (e.g. troubleshoot a light) is something that I will use for the rest of my life.
The problem (from the 20th century education perspective) is that these skills aren’t testable; they don’t show up on any transcript, there is no grade assigned. This, it seems, scares educators.
Does that fact that it is difficult to test a student’s ability to systematically think through a problem mean that it shouldn’t be the focus of our attention? We give students the tools, why not also focus on how to apply them logically?
There is no doubt in my mind that my GPA is lower due to my high level of “after school learning”. This is a fact that I have accepted because I know that I have learned more than my peers who did not take advantage of these additional learning opportunities. The question then becomes: how do I get colleges, my parents, all of the people who will be reading my transcript to acknowledge what I have learned, not only my documented performance? (Having a resume/CV helps a lot, but I don’t think the cultural understanding necessary to get credit for my extracurricular learning exists, yet.)
We need to learn to value the learning that can’t be tested before these additional opportunities for learning can be fully explored.
(if this post seems a bit scatterbrained, sorry. It went through an unusual writing process.)
@ Mrs. Durff: When I speak of the distinction between extracurricular and curricular there is the implied notion of a “required” curriculum. Part of what makes my extracurricular learning so powerful is that is totally self-directed, I do those things because I want to. While I agree we need to see more of the extracurricular-type learning inside the classroom, _extra_curricular activities and learning will always have their place due to their totally self-directed nature. I see project based learning as being the path through which we can gain the advantages of extracurricular methods inside the classroom, but I don’t see it replacing traditional extracurriculars anytime soon.
Do you think that the value of these extracurricular activities lies in the fact that they help you to become a more complete person? Or as key cards to play when applying for college and jobs?
Will you continue to take part in these “outside” pursuits regardless of their currency in the outside world?
I agree that grades can be limiting. How would you have teachers assess a student’s mastery of a subject? I am interested in learning how you and your peers would evaluate learning.
Wonderful start to Students 2.0! I look forward to hearing more from all of you.
diane