Traversing giant ocean rocks for miles to discover sea caves, identifying unknown creatures that lurk in the watery pools, and seeking abalone shell treasures is just a day in the life of child that is free from the confines of the institution that we call “school”. When the world is your classroom, the possibilities are limitless. Naysayers might argue that “regular” school attending children can also explore beaches and tide pools on school breaks. Yes, they can, but opportunity, intentionality and education by design sets the stage and therefore effects the outcome.
When a child knows his activity is to learn and explore unrestrained, there is a mindset of observation, inquiry, and time. It is not “we are going to the beach to relax and play because we have limited amount of time for our school break and we should make the most out of it”. Instead the mindset is “let’s go to the beach and see what we can spot and have a look at”.
Questions arise out of every outing and experience because freedom to learn is the driving factor. “Why can I only enter the sea cave at certain times? What happens to the sea creatures when the tide changes? Why do the tides change? How did the sea anemone capture the octopus it is eating? Why is this part of the shoreline covered with large rocks and that part of it is sand? Look, there is a family of sea slugs all next to each other. Are sea slugs social creatures? Why is the whale so close to the shore? Why are abalone shells iridescent on the inside?” Questions beget questions and research and investigations must be done to arrive at the answers.
How could a child see that much in one beach outing one might wonder? It is all about motive and education by design. When a child expects to learn, investigate, and analyze, the child approaches the world with eyes scouting and noticing clues and traces of life.
I remember vividly a recent trip to a museum where I had taken my sons. It was a school day so I didn’t expect to see many other kids. My two boys were taking their time at each exhibit, and moving on only when they were ready. Sometimes they would study an exhibit together and other times they would separate as their interest moved them on.
A field trip arrived and the difference was remarkable. “Line up right here. Keep your hands to yourself. Wait until everyone has a chance to use the bathroom and wash their hands before we move on. We have ten minutes at this exhibit and then we have to move on. We only have 2 hours here before we have to be back on the bus. No, Brennan, you must stay with the class and we are moving on from this exhibit. We are all walking to the fossils now, stay in line.” Those are just a few of the teacher led directions that I recall. My heart broke for the children that didn’t have the same privilege to tour unrestrained. Their experience at the museum was polar opposite from my two boys. Whether we stayed two hours or six hours was dependent on their interest level. Maybe we would come back the following day or week, if their curiosity was not satisfied with the visit.
The objective of the school teacher, through no fault of her own, was to get the students safely through the museum in two hours time. She did her job well and the students obeyed. But none the less, even with the drilling and training in expectations that comes with institutionalized education, little signs of rebellious behaviors were obvious. A poke here and a shove there. The students focus wasn’t so much on the museum exhibits, but the excitement of being away from the classroom and the juncture that it provided.
Compulsory education began less than two hundred years ago, which may seem like a long time to us, but it is not even a second compared to human history. “Normal” school education is very abnormal in comparison to the history of education. How did it get this way? The modern history of education is fraught confinement and restraint. Every child should have the space to examine his world and discern meaning in life through time and exploration.
Mark Twain famously said, “I have never let schooling interfere with my education.” Let’s not let schooling interfere with our kids education either. Let’s allow the world to be their classroom so their possibilities might be limitless.