The Risks of Freedom
Do you remember the last time you gave a child a new or unfamiliar toy? Did you just hand it to her and walk away? Or did you take the time to show her how it works?
Does it matter?
Does it matter?
A number of years ago, a group of psychologists conducted an experiment that involved these two, differing approaches. The experimenters showed children a very complicated gadget that could make different noises, had various lights and mirrors, and had a complicated array of switches to activate all of these. The question they sought to answer was: would the child discover all the things the toy could do? That answer depended a lot on how the toy was presented to the child.
When the child was simply handed the toy, she discovered all of the things it could do. When, however, the child was shown by the adult how a couple of the features worked, she was less likely to explore beyond what she was shown.
The experiment’s results, replicated again over time, offer a fairly robust conclusion: too much direction can inhibit learning and exploration. What are the implications of these experiments for parents? For teachers? For the college search and application process?
Aren’t we, as parents, doing our children a service when we show them how to do something? When we keep them from hurting themselves? When we arrange playdates for them with other children? As they get older, isn’t part of our job to help them? Shouldn’t we help them study the “right” way? Practice their musical instrument the “right” way?
Shouldn’t teachers teach their students how to most efficiently get the right answer on an assessment?
Shouldn’t college counselors show students the most direct path forward in the application process?
Maybe the answers to these questions depend on what the goals are. If we want the student to get the right answer, then perhaps direction is good. If, however, we want the student to learn how to ask the right questions then maybe freedom, not direction, is the goal. If we want them to achieve, then perhaps direction is better; if we want them to learn how to learn, then perhaps freedom is the tool to employ.
We like to throw out witty aphorisms like “it’s the journey not the destination” and “the work is its own reward” but are we willing to walk that talk?
Freedom is risky! What if the child fails the test because her mother let her study inefficiently and on her own? What if students don’t do as well on their standardized tests as they could because the teacher let them be in charge of their own learning experience? What if the student doesn’t get in to the college he most wanted because he wasn’t told what classes to take?
Are we encouraging achievement, or growth? Are they mutually exclusive?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
When the child was simply handed the toy, she discovered all of the things it could do. When, however, the child was shown by the adult how a couple of the features worked, she was less likely to explore beyond what she was shown.
The experiment’s results, replicated again over time, offer a fairly robust conclusion: too much direction can inhibit learning and exploration. What are the implications of these experiments for parents? For teachers? For the college search and application process?
Aren’t we, as parents, doing our children a service when we show them how to do something? When we keep them from hurting themselves? When we arrange playdates for them with other children? As they get older, isn’t part of our job to help them? Shouldn’t we help them study the “right” way? Practice their musical instrument the “right” way?
Shouldn’t teachers teach their students how to most efficiently get the right answer on an assessment?
Shouldn’t college counselors show students the most direct path forward in the application process?
Maybe the answers to these questions depend on what the goals are. If we want the student to get the right answer, then perhaps direction is good. If, however, we want the student to learn how to ask the right questions then maybe freedom, not direction, is the goal. If we want them to achieve, then perhaps direction is better; if we want them to learn how to learn, then perhaps freedom is the tool to employ.
We like to throw out witty aphorisms like “it’s the journey not the destination” and “the work is its own reward” but are we willing to walk that talk?
Freedom is risky! What if the child fails the test because her mother let her study inefficiently and on her own? What if students don’t do as well on their standardized tests as they could because the teacher let them be in charge of their own learning experience? What if the student doesn’t get in to the college he most wanted because he wasn’t told what classes to take?
Are we encouraging achievement, or growth? Are they mutually exclusive?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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