'Educational' and 'Learning' - When Did They Become Four Letter Words? And Why?

Back again - hopefully the next post won't be so long in coming....it's been hectic and we've been dealing with all of the issues that I talked about in the last post. Add to that all kinds of school admissions issues for students from Pre-K through Graduate School...lots of the same anxiety issues although each level's search-and-admissions process are different. Mix in a bit of New Year's Resolutions for Parents, Kids and Family Units and it's been well... whew! Let's just say I'm really happy to have a chance to write here today.

So today's NY Times has an article about Scholastic's next book series "Scholastic Plans to Put Its Branding Iron on a Successor to Harry Potter" and I caught this statement by David Levithan, an executive editorial director at Scholastic "...we talk of it as being subversively educational." Ok - here's the problem I have with that statement.

I know, believe me I know that if you try and get children to do something strictly because it's educational the glassy eyed stares and yawns that greet you will make you never want to utter those words again. Sure there are other ways to get children involved in activities that help them learn, the problem is that "educational" and "learning" have become the words that people speak in hushed tones. Everything else is out there in the open. And I mean EVERYTHING else - but this topic adults are afraid or reluctant to discuss.

Here's the thing. Let's get "educational" out of the back rooms. Let's show it proudly and talk about it openly because educational can be fun especially if it's approached the right way. Because when we stop learning we stop growing and living the best and most complete lives that we can. Because everything in our lives can be educational one way or another. Because life is educational and that's a good thing.

Think about vacations. Think about reading something interesting. Think about trying a new sport or taking a new route to work. Think about getting a new pet for the family. Think about the first time you went on the internet. Think about the first time you shopped on the internet. Keep going - think of all the things you did today and that hokey little saying we say all the time "well, I guess you learn something new every day". How lucky are we to be able to do that?

Ok - I sound like some Teacher's Pet-Pollyanna-Nerd - none of which I was in school believe me. But I know that the greatest joys in life come from continuing to learn new things. Learning helps prevent brain degeneration as you get older, our brains have amazing plasticity which allows us to learn and re-learn and develop new brain pathways. It's all good. Really.

So. Take the word "educational" off the list of four-letter words and embrace it and use it with your children. Be excited about learning new things. Talk about the "new thing you learn every day". If you approach it this way - they will learn to do so.

The great by-product of this is that you'll encourage your children to be self-starters in new projects, ideas and worlds of thought. They'll be less bored because there will always be something new to learn and try.

As a person who's never bored because there's always something new to learn and try...I'll tell you it's the greatest thing in the world.