Cathy Larson
  • Home
  • Resume
  • Writing Portfolio
  • Educational Blog

Knowledge versus experience

7/18/2016

5 Comments

 
My dad is the smartest man I know. Not only does he know the answers to most Jeopardy questions, he can also build anything, fix anything, sell everything, read people, problem solve, question the status quo, inspire others, crack jokes, remember just about fact every he’s ever heard, debate with the best of them, and invent ingenious products, in theory, every day. When I think of “smart,” he’s my benchmark.

Therefore, when I saw a graphic this past week made up of two frames, the thought of him helped me make sense of what I was viewing. In this graphic, the frame on the left was titled “Knowledge”; it was a simple box with a black outline, filled with random black dots. The frame on the right was titled “Experience”; this second box was exactly like the first with a simple black outline, filled with random black dots, but in this box the dots were all connected by thin black lines.

A simple graphic on the surface. Profound in its meaning for education.

My dad is the epitome of the “Experience” box. Sure, he would do well on Jeopardy because of his great memory for miscellaneous factoids, but it’s because of his life experiences he is so smart. It has been his experiences that connect his dots; his experiences that allow his knowledge to shine. Without a lifetime of opportunities to put his knowledge of math, English, history, language and science to work, these subjects he learned back in the 1950’s would be meaningless. Because he had opportunities in his life to work with the earliest computers, travel the world in the Navy, and experiment with his career, he can seamlessly make connections between seemingly disconnected events. He can find solutions to insurmountable challenges. He can make sense of the senseless.

What does all this mean for education, though?

It means our kids need opportunities to put their knowledge to work, because it’s these opportunities that will become the experiences, creating a generation who can build, fix, sell, question, inspire and invent. Our kids needs these experiences during school – time to volunteer, work part time, build small businesses, invent new programs, solve real problems, grow gardens, take apart old electronics, swim, play, travel. With these experiences, and with us supporting them along the way, our kids will walk out of high school with more than just a box filled with historical dates, comma rules, and memorized facts.

Our teachers can help by providing assignments with real audiences. They can stop with the meaningless, rote homework. Stop with the quiz, after test, after assessment cycle. Stop with the mundane worksheet lessons recycled year-over-year.

As a community, we need to ask our schools to start helping our kids not only fill the box on the left, but also make connections between those dots in order to ensure their success in our interconnected world. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Thanks, Dad, for reminding me that facts are the foundation, but it’s in the experience wherein the wisdom lies.
5 Comments
Micheal rodriguiz link
8/30/2016 09:59:22 am

hi its micheal and i really like your blog and thx for being my teacher have a great day micheal

Reply
jake micheal murphy link
8/30/2016 10:03:37 am

awsome blog mrs.larson thx for the lesson :)

Reply
Alex Peterson
8/30/2016 10:07:37 am

thx for the advice

Reply
Krystian Gosselin
8/30/2016 10:55:39 am

Nice Blog it was definitely worth reading Ms. Larson

Reply
Jenny Platt
9/14/2016 07:27:17 pm

I have had one child go through the Los Al School District, K-12. I now have my next batch going through. I can happily say that homework is so different. Both my kids have reading each night and Jiji a few times a week. The teachers at my children's school are totally changing their thoughts on homework after research that is showing that busy work isn't helpful. And the best part is that our principal is totally on board. I'm not saying Los Al is perfect. I have a lot of questions and concerns about the budget and why every year they are asking the parent groups to pay more and more. It's frustrating.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All
    21st Century Classroom
    21st Century Curriculum
    College And Career
    Common Core
    Communication
    Culture
    Curriculum
    Equity
    Funding
    Fundraising
    Homework
    Instructional Minutes
    Inter District Transfers
    Inter-District Transfers
    Intervention
    Literacy
    Rigor
    Safety
    School Board
    School Calendar
    Stress
    Student Engagement
    Summer
    Summer Loss
    Teachers
    Technology In The Classroom
    Traffic
    Transparency
    Writing

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.