Learning is Spontaneous

Learning is spontaneous, not something to be planned.

Some of my best lessons were not the ones well-laid, but the ones that I drew upon when playing by ear.

One history class of sophomores asked the essential question:

"Why do we have to learn this stuff?"

A perfect moment. I handed to them a sheet of eight questions: History, Memory, Meaning. Whether they pondered hypothetical scenarios or wrote about their favorite stories and important awards or artifacts that they still kept, students learned how personal, then corporate, memory works into and defines their lives.

That was the most successful lesson that I taught in that class, a lesson in which they delved into their own experience, and analyzed what they found in light of the abstract merits of historical inquiry.

From there, I would have better served those students if I had tailored the remaining lessons on essential questions -- of their OWN asking -- and provide historical resources for them to find answers to those questions.

Sadly, the state in all of its (please read the latent sarcasm here!) "wisdom" has deemed that there are specific periods of history which students must learn -- or rather, Facts (no, factoids!) to memorize, then vomit back on some standardized test in May. No wonder students are so embalmed by history -- they learn "one damn thing after another" without recognizing any cohesion among various people, places, and events. Worst of all, there is no direct benefit for their having crammed all of this useless information in their heads, must of which is irrelevant, distorted, or just plain false.

History is a never-ending process, one which incites constant inquiry, controversy, and revision, both good and bad, casual and scholarly!

Why not invite students into this fantastic, unending journey? Besides, must professionals study history not just to know "what happened", but because they want to find reasons for what and why things happened, and why things are the way they are; and of course, what role each and every one of us has to play in this great play called life . . .

That's a history class I would attend!