Unlearning 101

Unlearning Learning

I once read a wonderful quote that went something to the affect of this: "The great scandal of education is that every time you teach a child something you deprive them of the opportunity to discover it for themselves."

According to this new fascinating study, school children can learn complex subjects on their own. More interesting still, three months after the students had taught themselves they had better recall of the information which they had taught themselves.

I'm not suggesting that teachers are irrelevant but I do believe a great many need to unlearn what they think they know about learning--and teaching.

For further proof that children can learn on their own, watch this insightful TED talk by Sugata Mitra on Child-driven education.

Related Posts by Jack Uldrich on unlearning and education:

Teach Unlearning in Kindergarten

10 Things Worthy of Teaching in Kindergarten

Please, Let's Stop Unlearning Creativity

 

Another Reason to Develop a Little Unconfidence

Developing a healthy dose of unconfidence can be helpful in unlearning. Ironically, one of the things many U.S. students must unlearn is their high level confidence in their math and science scores.

Did you know that although U.S. students have some of the lowest scores in math and science, they consistently rank highest in how confident they are about their math and science skills. (Students in Singapore -- who possess the highest scores -- however have some of the lowest levels of confidence in their math and science ability).

I'm all for self-esteem but high confidence can work as a serious determent to improvement. In other words, the American student (who desperately needs to improve his or her math skills) doesn't think such action is necessary because they are overly confident in their ability, while the Singapore student (who is already doing well) continues to push ahead and improve because she believes she is behind her international peers.

Related Posts

Replace "No Doubt" with "To Know Doubt"

Have Some Intellectual Humility

Unlearning Intelligence or Why You Shouldn't Tell Your Kid He or She is Smart

Test the Limits of Tests

The IQ test, the SAT, the LSAT and countless other tests all serve a limited purpose but each is a remarkably poor predictor of long-term success.

Why?

It is not because of what they measure, it is because of what they don't measure--and they don't measure characteristics such as curiosity, self-control, grit, and risk-taking.

Remember, if you want to unlearn it is just as important to see what isn't there as it is to see what is there.

Related Posts

Question Your Intelligence 

Mix Up Your Mind

 

Shop in Reverse

Next time you need to go shopping for a new wardrobe, try this little trick: Shop in reverse. Instead of buying the most expensive item first (say a suit or a dress), buy the least expensive item first (i.e. socks or underwear).

Why? It might save you some money.

It is a well-known fact that if you pay a lot of money for a suit or a dress, the sales associate can more easily "upsell" you on lesser items such as shirts, shoes, socks and underwear.

If, however, you reverse the process and buy the most inexpensive first you are less likely to spend as liberally on the bigger ticket items.

Think of it this way: It is easier to spend $40 on socks after you have just spent $1000 on a suit. It is much more difficult to be lured into a $1000 suit if you only spent $10 on socks.

What Do You "Kno" About Books?

My daughter is in sixth grade and, for her age, she is on the smaller-size. Nevertheless, every morning I marvel as she straps on her backpack and trudges off to school. I'm pretty sure -- pound-for-pound -- she is carrying more weight than a Roman Centurion went into battle with 2000 years ago.

It needn't be this way. Watch this impressive video on a new tablet computer from Kno that allows students to highlight and make notes directly on book pages. My question is this: Why carry seven books when one thin computer will do the job -- and carry a thousand more books and videos to boot?

The device has the potential to revolutionize education. The only question is whether teachers, parents and school administrators can unlearn their old ways.

 

Changing Education Forever from Kno Tablet on Vimeo.

Related Posts

10 Things Worthy of Teaching in Kindergarten

10 "Why's" ABout Education

Orville Wright Did Not Have a Pilot's License

Activate Your Imagination

One of the worst things an adult can do is criticize a child for having an "overactive imagination." From my perspective, now more than ever, the world needs more imagination.

One solution: Begin criticizing adults for having "underactive" imaginations.

Related Posts

The Essential Element of Creativity

Cultivate a Beginner's Mind

Think Inside-Out the Box

Last year, I posed the question above. The most common answer is the one posted below. But if you really want to unlearn, I encourage you to keep searching for answers. The problem can actually be solved using only three lines. In fact, there is even a way to do it using only one line. (The quiz and the possibility for multiple answers is a wonderful metaphor for the idea that you should never stop searching for better solutions -- i.e. just because you "solved" a problem that doesn't imply you solved it in the best or most effective or efficient manner.)

The bottom-line? Unlearning doesn't just require you to think outside the box, you need to think inside-out the box. Hell, you must even question the idea that there needs to be a box!

The three line solution:

And the one line solutions:

An Easy Way to Gain Wealth: Unlearn

I was rereading Anthony de Mello's book, The Way to Love, last evening and this sentence caught my attention: The reason why you are unhappy is because you are focusing on what you do not have rather than on what you have right now.

Interestingly, earlier in the day, I was reading Nassim Taleb's new book, The Bed of Procrustes, and I had highlighted this aphorism: 

"Wealthy" is meaningless and has no robust absolute measure; use instead the subtractive measure "unwealth," that is, the difference, at any point in time, between what you have and what you would like to have.

After the mulling the two passages, it suddenly dawned on me that the easiest way to bolster both your wealth and your happiness in one easy step is to simply unlearn your idea of what wealth is: Just focus on what you have. 

This, in turn, reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: The man who knows he has enough ... has enough.

The Beauty of Unlearning

Truth is not always what you see. Reality is more complicated but, I'd argue, no less beautiful. Watch this short 1-minute video to understand.

Teaching Kids to Live in a Multiple Answer World

Ken Robinson (the presenter of one of the best TED talks I have ever seen) has, with the help of the fine folks at RSA Animate, produced another short video on the importance of rethinking--or unlearning--how we educate our children. I highly recommend it.