Education

My husband posted today about Progressive Education. It was a great post and I wanted to comment on it.

I have never believed in traditional education. I have always been a rebel and questioned everything, so needless to say, traditional education would not have been a very healthy environment for me. I went to a very progresive school in the early 70's, probably a bit too progressive because there was no structure at all, so lesson learned that there must be rigor and accountability in any type of education.

Our kids go to LREI which is a leader in progressive education. I love the education they are receiving because they are learning to become life long learners. They are involved in their own education. They challenge themselves daily through breaking down problems and putting them back together. That is how you learn for life. Rote learning is bogus. Cram tonight, test tomorrow. It doesn't stick in the long run. I am amazed at what our oldest, who is in 8th grade, remembers from 3rd grade. Why? Because she was part of the learning process.

My husband went to MIT and then years later went to UPenn grad school. MIT defines a progressive institute. My father went there for graduate school and he still learns by breaking down the principles. When my husband went off to grad school, he had never taken an economics or accounting class. He was an engineering guy. So, the first semester he really had to figure out how economics and accounting worked. He didn't memorize it, he broke it down and put it back together. He spent the last 3 semesters training every friend of his in those 2 courses. It was the progressive training at MIT that helped his mind look at everything clearer and taught him how to learn not memorize. It was really quite amazing.

I distinctly can recall a few classes in college where our learning was integrated into the entire classroom through discussions and project based work. Those are the only classes I remember that I truly enjoyed. You should enjoy your education. After all, a lot of us spend from 4-21 being educated. Life is too short not to learn something new everyday and enjoy doing it.