Why Literacy Shouldn’t Be the Goal During a Pandemic

How I Put the C-word into Schooling at Home.

Ever notice how kids hate doing worksheets?

Forlorn faces. Empty eyes. Slumped shoulders. As if only shriveling up and dying would spare them this fate.

You can’t blame them. I mean, do you enjoy paperwork?

I’ve taught kids preK-12 and homeschooled my three. The one commonality possessed by every single child in over 20 years of teaching is a keen distaste for worksheets (and that’s putting it mildly).

It doesn’t matter the type of worksheet, either.

Math. Language Arts. Social Studies. Science. (Even science courses — which by their very nature are hands on — come with worksheets.)

Why Worksheets?

The fact that subjects in schools are so compartmentalized is part of the problem.

Our brains have no special corner for each individual subject area. Language and math processing, for instance, occur all over the brain with distinct parts interacting with several others. So it makes no sense to force kids to think about everything so separately.

There’s no surprise then when children of all ages push back about this educational standby called worksheets. Education in two dimensions, sitting at a table completing worksheets day after day, is nothing short of torture. Of course academic achievement will plummet.

Music

One easy way to enhance the joy of learning — that could even make worksheets more enjoyable during distance learning — is to set them to music.

The jury’s still out on which type of music is the best, but it’s believed by some researchers that music liked by listeners helps boost a sense of mental and physical well-being.

And you and your kids stuck at home could use some of that during a global pandemic.

There’s also plenty of evidence to show that musical training will bolster language development and mathematical thinking.

Flue or guitar lessons, anyone?

So why isn’t music incorporated in education as the common factor that promotes learning? There is certainly a biologically-based reason for integrating music in education. Or any apparently disparate subjects.

But it’s very rare to see.

Liberal Arts

For me, it wasn’t until I got to college when I was offered a course called Mathemenglish. It was co-taught by a math professor and an English literature professor. Surprisingly, we use an actual textbook designed for the integration of these supposedly different subjects (plus many professor-selected readings).

Mathemenglish stimulated my creative abilities, enabling me to take intellectual leaps across well-entrenched academic divides. (It’s one reason I earned a liberal arts degree in college and, many years later, ran our homeschool in a similar fashion.)

Imagine how interesting courses like mathemusic or musenglish could be? Imagine what that would look (and sound!) like.

Unfortunately, I’ve never seen it happen in any school setting, and I’ve been in many.

Creative Curricula

Cross-disciplinary worksheets implies there are educators who would be able to design more creative curricula. If these people have gone through an educational system filled with one-subject worksheets, you can see how this would be a strenuous, mind-stretching task for educators.

Likewise, combining subjects would mean class schedules and report cards would need to undergo a serious overhaul to accommodate cross-disciplines. This would be a nightmare for school administrators and college admissions officers.

In both cases, though, learners would excel because the possibilities for success would be already built in.

The world would be a much different, more interesting place, too.

Education for Automatons

Teachers and school administrators have kept subjects separate and made learning rote for a reason. It was easy to train up future factory workers and maintain the status quo this way. Independent, free-thinking individuals could cause a social or political uprising. The wealthy and those with political power would never go for that.

This may have worked well at the start of the Industrial Age when companies needed drone workers with minimal education to perform mindless labor, but nothing extraordinary. Doing repetitive tasks in an clothes factory or a steel mill required nothing more than rudimentary mastery of the 3Rs.

But rote learning of a government-sponsored curriculum like what we have today — Common Core — isn’t enough to produce the creative thinkers and problem solvers that the 21st century demands. In fact, many researchers argue Common Core is the death knell for innovation.

By contrast, human ingenuity developed through an education in which multi-disciplinary creativity has a chance to flourish will encourage innovation.

Steve Jobs

Now you can understand why Steve Jobs called calligraphy his favorite class in college. He credits his Mac invention to that class, believing calligraphy’s beauty captured a truth that science cannot prove.

Your first response upon hearing about calligraphy’s influence on Jobs may have been to call calligraphy a waste of time. Or to say he was a directionless drifter.

History demonstrates this was far from true. Jobs was a great innovator who appreciated the role of following his interests and his intuition to guide his success. He absolutely credited the artistic power that he gave to the Mac computer to his Reed College calligraphy course.

Jobs stated:

“You cannot connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will connect in future. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference.”

Why wait until college before starting an education based in creativity? Imagine how much greater human ingenuity could soar if we were brought up immersed in opportunities to create at every turn, at every age.

So what’s the solution? Covid quarantine provides the opportunity to make a transformation in education. Family by family.

Thank You, Covid

Parents have an opportunity this school year to remake education for their children.

True, you probably have mixed feelings about schooling from home.

On the one hand, you’re breathing a sigh of relief as school districts announce fall school closures. Indoor schools are living Petri dishes where Covid will literally go viral, including — possibly — cycling back into your home.

But at the same time, you are justifiably worried about juggling working from home or having to go to a job every day while your kids are home full-time.

You may be tempted to fall into the video game trap. Not a good idea. It may keep them quiet, but it’s addictive and mind-mushing.

Nothing against electronic screens, though. When used as learning tools, computers and similar devices can enhance creativity. (See more on this below.)

Mom & Dad: You have an alternative this year to all the worksheets and other busy work your kids will be asked to do during distance learning by your local school.

No child is looking forward to more video lessons and worksheets. Especially not for a full academic year.

You can’t bring all of their friends into your home, which is likely what they miss most about school.

But you can make schooling from home full of enjoyable learning.

You can create a home learning environment where your kids’ creativity will thrive across all subject areas. In the process, their literacy will get a boost. Research shows this to be true.

Creativity replaces literacy as the focal point upon which all else revolves in the educational alternative I’m suggesting. But literacy (and numeracy) are still present. They’re just masked in fun.

As Albert Einstein said:

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”

Children will be the leaders — and enthusiastic ones at that — in this educational revolution if only parents will give them the chance to use their imaginations fully.

Here are some ways I made creativity work as the basis for education for my own children at home.

Unleashing My Children’s Creative Brilliance

For a time when I homeschooled, I was overseen by my county’s department of education.

They required evidence of mastery in every major subject in order to pass a child to the next level. Twice a year, I had to prepare a portfolio for each of my children. At our reviews, I was required to present at least three work samples in each subject.

Fortunately, there was nothing in the rules stipulating that I had to approach each subject separately. So I didn’t.

Most of my children’s samples could have represented their competence in more than one subject. That’s okay. They produced many like this to choose from.

1. Art Across the Curriculum

Like all kids, my children loved art all through their childhoods. You name it, they tried it:

• Splashing watercolors on paper (sometimes walls, too!)
• Forming figurines out of putty
• Cutting materials of different textures for a collage
• Drawing action figures or superheroes

So, every time we read a book, no matter the topic, we’d draw, paint or color a picture based on it. Or, we’d make something based on the story like a diorama. Cooking up and eating their creations based on the story’s time period was always a hit.

Of course, we did research to guide our creativity. My kids developed the ability to look things up by doing it (with my suggestions).

I especially liked stories that had no illustrations in them. It made my children imagine the scene described in the text and translate it into artwork of two or three dimensions. (The Narnia series was excellent for this.)

For older kids who love graphic design, I recommend a Mac computer. You’ll have an amazing tool to create fantastic art!

2. Play Time, Year-Round

Ever notice how your child seeks out novelty?

Call me conniving, but I encouraged my children — at all ages — to sharpen their innate novelty detectors by “sneaking in” new items in their toy boxes, in a pile of board games, or in the garage where we kept outdoor equipment. I wouldn’t tell them that something new was there and to have a look.

I just waited.

Doing it this way heightened the element of surprise — and joy.

Always resulted in lots of smiles, sharing and impromptu play. Like Christmas morning all throughout the year.

They became expert sniffers at my game. Then, I started hiding novelty in unusual places.

Like a random act of kindness.

Finding joy during a pandemic quarantine is crucial for mental health for everybody. Give my strategy a try in your home. You won’t be disappointed!

Why Novelty in Play?

Novelty works because kids’ brains are hungry for learning.

At all ages, play is a child’s work.

As parent-teacher, provide novelty and plenty of opportunities to explore it.

Here are some novelty props to supply (along with imagination!)

• Balls (of all shapes and sizes)
• Sports equipment (badminton, bowling pins, bean bags, flour sacks, horseshoes, etc.)
• Mental puzzles (Rubik’s cube and similar mind games)
• New board games
• New art supplies

3. Math Games

One of the best parts of RightStart math was the card game book. Created by Dr. Cotter, an engineer turned math educator and curriculum developer, the games made math fun. They reinforced every lesson. My children and I even played our favorite games when “school” wasn’t officially in session, like on Saturday nights. (Okay, call us geeky.)

A math board game called Equate was superb. Setup like Scrabble, Equate used math operation symbols and numbers instead of letters. When my kids succeeded at formulating an equation with all 7 or 8 of their tiles that fit on the board, they’d be able to exit the game if they wanted.

They never did. They wanted to use up all the tiles before quitting the game.

Playing chess was a favorite activity, too. Helped in developing critical thinking skills.

4. Kitchen and Backyard Science

Science is by its very nature experimental. Worksheets are totally inadequate to learning what science is.

My objective throughout all grade levels was to get them thinking like scientists.

I (and they) selected or thought up experiments that were open-ended. (NOT demonstrations.)

Critical elements of our science classes were discussions on:

• Making a hypothesis
• Developing a procedure that would test it
• Analyzing data
• Discussing the results

My background is in science so proceeding this way felt natural to me. If you’re not too science-y, there are plenty of science resources available to guide you along. Contact me for ideas.

Creative Schooling at Home on Your Own Terms

Like most parents, you’ve been worried about how you’ll deal with your kids at home — possibly all year. Covid-19 is forcing school systems to keep their doors closed.

Distance learning was a disaster for many last spring. You definitely don’t want a repeat of that.

The new school year at home doesn’t have to be a tug-a-war struggle between you and your kids. Make it a fun educational experience by basing it on creativity and making it interdisciplinary!

Get rid of any preconceptions that you may hold about your inability to do this.

You can.

Allow your kids the freedom to be creative. Never make learning a chore or a punishment.

Best part: No worksheets needed! (Unless they ask. Think they’ll miss ‘em?)

Kids need your guidance and supervision to develop a curriculum based on creativity work. You can start preparing for success now before the school year.

To get the ball rolling, check out my article titled 5 Key Ways to Set Up A Pandemic Homeschool That Your Kids Will Love. Even if you’re not homeschooling, you’ll find creative ideas to avoid boredom and misbehavior caused by kids in quarantine having nothing to do and no place to go.