Frequently Asked Questions
We talk about creative outcomes in the context of what we want the outcomes from educating our children to be. Despite popular belief of a “one way to educate all” style of education, we wish to help parents understand that there are many forms in which their child’s education may take shape. A diversity of creative ways of generating learning outcomes is possible and we want to help parents (and the general society at large) find them.
When you allow “education” to include self-directed learning coupled with innovative learning environments, outcomes can become varied and creative.
The culture of education today is rooted in the general assumption that adults should be in charge and that adults know what is best for children to learn. It relies on the belief that children need to be molded into a certain type of learner. We know this culture is only ONE option and we wish to see it changed. We know children (and all individuals) learn best when the base of their learning is rooted in self-motivation and self-initiative. Self-motivation and self-initiative rely on the presence of personal choice and personal responsibility; both of which are not qualities present in our current culture of education. WE, at Creative Outcomes, recognize that collective change is needed. We wish to support other parents and advocate ourselves to offer our children diverse learning environments that offer them ways to be more in charge of their own learning process. In our modern society creativity is very important; our modern context requires people to know how to think for themselves and to be creative problem-solvers. Learning and re-learning is a major component to success today.
Changing the culture of education to one in which natural and self-directed learning is allowed and trusted will bring about creative outcomes.
Self-directed learning happens naturally from the day a baby is born. Human-beings naturally learn by being part of the family and culture that is around them. They observe, they imitate, and above all they play. Children initiate learning on their own and through free play they make sense of their world and learn to do all that the adults around them do and more. More formal learning happens in the same natural way, even “difficult” learning. No great scientist, thinker or writer only achieved a level of success because someone forced them to finish; they accomplished something because THEY wanted to!
For a comprehensive explanation of self-directed learning please follow this link: http://alternativestoschool.com/faqs/
The Think-Tank is conducted as a S.O.L.E. (Self-Organizing Learning Environment) session, tackling one Big Question per session. S.O.L.E. sessions have been used by Sugata Mitra in his now famous experiments with children teaching themselves with the aid of technology. In a session we work together in teams collaborating and researching “a Big Question” to come up with answers that are presented at the end of the session to the whole group. To join us in our next session check the Think Tank Session tab. You can also register through our Facebook page.