This quote brings to mind the many years I spent sitting in a grade-school classroom reading a book under my desk while the teacher prattled on about some topic or another I had no interest in and no emotional connection to. I don't remember any of those lectures, though I do remember getting in trouble for reading--go figure, especially when I was *gasp* reading ahead in a book we were reading as a class, which apparently is a horrible thing indeed (after all, then we might actually meet the learning goals ahead of time & what would the teacher do with us then???).
What I remember....
Preschool, playing Lincoln Logs with my friend named Lincoln, sipping yogurt through a straw, climbing too high on the jungle gym and screaming until the teacher got me down, and balancing on the cement around the playground (which was against the rules). What I don't remember, aside from the fact that I saw it on a recent home video clip, is the song about the thirteen original colonies of the United States.
Kindergarten, playing in the blocks center & the dramatic play center, climbing too high on the jungle gym and screaming (this seems to be an ongoing trend), hatching chickens from eggs--something I'm trying to figure out how I could manage with my current class group.
During the school age years I don't remember much of the "core" curriculum, but I do remember a pajama party in my second grade class (is it coincidence my kids have repeatedly asked for a second PJ party this year???), doing project-based learning in third grade (with teachers far ahead of their times) and "classroom stores" selling otter pops on the playground. Third grade is perhaps my most memorable year (and not only because I got contacts that year, extremely traumatizing--the class once got extended recess because I was in the room trying to get them in and I didn't get any recess at all). I remember the fourth grade play, which I hated because I was sick the day of auditions & made my parents take me to school with strep throat, but I could hardly talk so I still got a non-speaking part with an individual who hated me & almost didn't show the day of the play. Fifth grade was pure misery as by that point we'd done away with hands-on learning for the most part in favor of drill & kill approaches, I remember very little aside from hating math. Sixth grade I spent most of the time hiding in the library during recess, and occasionally when I cut class--for some reason my teacher, though he knew about this, didn't argue often. Probably because he inherently knew I was learning a heck of a lot more digging into books than I would sitting in the classroom. I'll never forget the amazing school librarian who took me under her wing, pushed me to expand my horizons into reading non-fiction, and gave me "jobs" that made me feel competent and useful during a time I felt very much like I didn't "fit in" socially.
My kids probably aren't going to remember the reading lessons, the math workshops, and the songs I teach them in an attempt to "educate" them on basic concepts such as colors or shapes--doesn't mean I won't do them, but I'm not going to depend on them! I hope they remember digging in the garden for worms, walking through the "forest" looking for wolves, making chocolate milk (on the carpet), and taking bubble baths in the sensory bin. I wonder what they'll be blogging about in twenty years?
I too use to read under the desk and got in trouble frequently. Usually I read ahead in the textbooks too. I too have wondered why we do not teach more hands on and use more real life experiences.
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