The Messiness of Learning

When we opened our personalized learning lab school in Houston around 10 years ago, visitors complimented us on our creative and innovative practices. They were amazed at how much time we spent focused on learners, specifically how they grew in their reading, writing, and problem-solving abilities, how they were able to build relationships with their coaches and their peers, how they felt empowered as learners, how they embraced anytime, anywhere learning, and how they were able to use technology as a tool to make them smarter and stronger.

But these so-called creative and innovative practices weren’t new at all. Others have been promoting learning this way for centuries, from the Greeks to John Dewey, and Maria Montessori. Now, learning pods and microschools have picked up on learning the way the Greeks, Dewey, and Montessori practiced. But, what many of those pods and small schools are recognizing is that learning is a messy process. Learning isn’t really about taking a pencil and paper test. It’s about rolling up your sleeves and challenging your brain to think differently.

Recently, Kate Cray, a senior associate editor for The Atlantic, focused on Montessori’s methodology – experiential learning – in an article titled “The Fairy-Tale Promises of Montessori Parenting.”

Cray writes,

“’Giving my 4-year-old a random food without explanation to see what he does,’ an automated voice says at the start of a TikTok from the parenting influencer known as LauraLove. She hands her son, Carter, a container of ricotta cheese. He announces quickly: He’ll make stuffed shells.”

“Carter seems incredibly prepared, standing on a platform to reach the stove. He seasons the beef, cooks the pasta, mixes the filling, and stuffs the shells. Sure, his motions are clumsy and he goofs off while he works. But the end dish looks pretty good. Even more compelling, though, might be how Carter responds to his mistakes. When he drops a stuffed shell upside down, he makes a joke. When he splashes egg on himself, he doesn’t flinch. ‘I got a little wet,’ he says. ‘But that’s fine. That happens when you’re cooking.’”

“The whole video – Carter’s demeanor, the equipment he stands on, even the choice of activity – is filled with the hallmarks of Montessori parenting. You might recognize the name Montessori from the group of schools known for prioritizing child autonomy and learning through play. Though the parenting approach is not officially affiliated with Montessori education, you can think of it as a sort of DIY descendant, in which people apply many of the same concepts in a new realm. Recently it’s become highly visible, in large part because of social media. (LauraLove, for instance, has nearly 8 million followers.) Now Montessori influences pervade the design of playrooms, popular toys, and even the general ethos of self-sufficiency that defines many modern child-rearing theories.”

…

“The Montessori approach to parenting is rooted in a respected pedagogical system started in the early 20^th century by the Italian educator Maria Montessori. She preached that kids were innately orderly, focused, and self-motivated, and should be given freedom to choose what they learn. She believed that play is educational, and she filled schoolrooms with what others saw as mere toys. She found value in housework, too, and had students do chores as part of their lessons. She lamented that the world was not built to be accessible to children – and she created a school that was. Its philosophy lives on in the many modern-day schools that bear her name.”

…

“The actual parenting philosophy is adapted from Maria’s educational principles as well as comments she made about parents’ role in child development. At its core, Montessori parenting is defined by three main features. The first, and most important…is a gentle and respectful way of interacting with children that does away with traditional discipline and encourages independence. The second involves creating what is known as a ‘prepared space’: a well-organized area for kids to play in, with child-size furniture and objects that are all within the child’s reach. The final element is facilitating specialized activities depending on the kid’s age, which can be educational play or helping with chores – like cooking.”

…

“Indeed, for new parents, Montessori’s appeal seems to lie in its structure. Parenting is messy; Montessori is orderly – and the implication is that it can bring order to your life, too. Make your surroundings harmonious, and your kids can then carry out elaborate, enriching activities. And nothing can disrupt this peace for long, because if your child is unruly, you can follow a Montessori-inspired series of steps to – respectfully – quiet their tantrum.”

“These expectations quickly crumble in real life: Of course, Montessori can’t eliminate chaos. But approached realistically, Montessori’s principles can serve as a trusted playbook for coping with the chaos…”

“Montessori is remarkable for the extent to which it takes children seriously, involving innovations small (art hung at kids’ eye level in their own rooms) and large (putting play at the center of children’s education). The parenting style encourages kids to express themselves – and sometimes, for toddlers, that self-expression involves throwing fits. No amount of respect for your children’s emotional life can change that. The implication that Montessori would make parenting orderly and predictable was always doomed to fail. But the philosophy does give parents something to steady themselves while living through the havoc of helping someone else grown up.”

Even though Cray’s article focused on parenting, her big idea that adult learning leaders need to get ready for the “messiness of learning,” if those adults want to help young people become smarter and stronger learners.

Too many traditional public schools expect everything that happens on their campus to be neat and orderly. But that’s not the way learning happens, is it?

Til tomorrow. SVB