"The Process IS More Important"

That is the thought I ended my last post on: "Perhaps the process, in the end,  is more important than the speed anyway." Since last writing, I've contemplated that a bit and concluded I was right. (Surprise, surprise.)

What do we learn about learning as we learn? If we learn that we are capable learners, if we learn learning is exciting, if we learn knowledge can enrich our lives and figuratively color our world, wouldn't we keep at it, no matter the institution, or lack thereof, we participate in over a lifetime?

How many adults do you know who view learning this way? I was in a church class of all adults some time back that was discussing some of the greatest blessings in life. "Learning!" I enthusiastically offered. The facilitator of the class gave me a suspicious glance as if I was interjecting sarcasm into the discussion. (I've been known to do that too.) His reception to my suggestion struck me hard. It has stuck with me for more than a year.

This morning as I contemplated the process, I realized many adults view learning as something to dread. For them, it is a process to be engaged in only when it is forced upon them by necessity. And if they can skirt around it, they will, and do. Otherwise they go into learning with a head, heart, and mouth full of complaints. Shall I make a stab at where they "learned" this attitude?

Not all children feel this way about school. But sometimes liking it isn't much better. A friend of mine who has since moved away, was visiting with me about how much her oldest daughter liked school. "What does she like about it?" I asked. My friend didn't have an answer. I got the feeling she hadn't been asked that question before - as if when she had told other parents about this daughter, the liking was enough all in itself for everyone. So after a little prodding, my friend said, "I think she just likes getting good grades." She couldn't name a subject her daughter preferred or an aspect of school that seemed engaging to her.

As near as I could tell, for this girl, school was like a video game she had mastered. She excelled at wracking up points. Of course, the best part of mastering school in this way is that you might get to hear your parents telling other parents how good you are at playing the game. It is unlikely any parent would tell another what a wiz her child was at Street Fighter or Angry Birds.

So my question is, how can we change this? In a world of tests and grades and points, how do we separate ourselves from the view that winning the game is the score at the end?

I've heard Einstein kept a sign in his office that read, "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." Perhaps this great mind needed the reminder to value the process. Or he might have been teaching us to value it.

Wrapping up, here is another quote from a great mind and teacher: "You must unlearn what you have learned." That's Yoda. I love homeschooling because I get to unlearn all the time. Sometimes I'm unlearning that math is boring. Other times I'm unlearning that tests demonstrate how much one knows about a subject. Always, I seem to be unlearning what counts, and to pause in life and count what does. And I love that my kids and I are on this adventure together.