On The Laughter of Learners

It's 41 minutes into the 3rd day of school here at Chisholm Creek Academy. Our learners are starting to settle into a routine, which means I can sit down and try to accomplish one or two things off my ever-compounding to-do list, but I'm distracted by all the laughter coming out of the studios.

There is something special about the laughter of a child, the almost musical pitch of it, the realness of it. Most of them have yet to learn to fake niceties, that politeness that we as adults too often use to soften the blow or to not appear rude or cause offense. Children are real and raw, their emotions are right out in the open for us to see and if we are careful, we can learn from them.

I was a youth pastor years ago now, I spent a decade working with and teaching middle school and high school kids. 15 plus years ago my eldest son was born followed by his brother and sister. I learned a lot from pastoring and parenting. These experiences laid the groundwork for what would become Chisholm Creek Academy. But, these past few years have taught me more about teaching, children, and learning than I ever thought possible. Certainly more than the decades previous to this week. 

I only have myself to blame. It was my pride and stubbornness that prevented me from learning these lessons. My desire to be the smartest person in a room full of middle and high schoolers, or at least appear to be, too often kept me from learning from them. But it is only through the eyes of these learners, by continually observing them, by paying attention to that raw honesty, their laughter and frowns, that my learning can be done, and they have so much to teach me.

I have learned that when they are bored with a topic, it’s my fault. Either through not engaging them enough, not preparing them, or more likely falling in love with a topic myself and just assuming they will love it too, our learners show their approval or disapproval in their laughter or frowns—their boredom or engagement.

It is our responsibility as guides here at Chisholm Creek Academy to stoke the flames of the learner’s natural curiosity, that love of learning and exploration inherent in every child. All too often we have to rekindle that love of learning because some traditional school has snuffed it out. We find ourselves carefully blowing on the nearly dead ember of a learner's crushed spirit as they raise their hand to speak, ask to go to the bathroom, or look for an assigned reading list and anticipate hours of homework that will be assigned. We NEVER ask them to raise their hand or seek permission to use the washroom and we will NEVER EVER ASSIGN THEM HOMEWORK! We have found that forcing them to read a list of books will just make them hate reading.

We believe that learners are perfectly capable of learning to participate in a discussion civilly, waiting their turn to speak, and listening carefully as others give their answers. Nowhere else in our lives do we ask them to raise their hands to express an opinion so why is this necessary in a traditional school? We believe that our learners are perfectly capable of listening to their bodies and using the bathroom appropriately and we afford them the dignity of doing so. We believe that homework is useless and that if a learner is seeking to accomplish a goal they will assign themselves homework when appropriate, trusting in their good judgment and common sense. 

Finally, we believe that all reading, especially something that is interesting or intriguing to a learner is a worthwhile pursuit. Whether that be a comic book, toaster oven manual, or Gibbon’s, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Which for some reason no one has taken up my recommendation to read?)  We believe that by allowing them to read what they want they will train themselves to love reading in and of itself, which allows them to read things that they must later, hopefully much later. For now, it is only important that they learn to love to read.

Years ago I would have agreed with the traditional system. I would have assigned specific books that must be read, that control must be enforced, that autonomy was a loss of control, and that you must keep that control in a classroom in order to avoid chaos. To my shame, this damaged my relationship with my sons, and I will spend a lifetime repenting of that. I will repent of my need for control, my avoidance of chaos both at home and in our school. I will repent of my need to appear as the smartest person in a room full of children because if the last few years of working in and then starting this school have taught me nothing else, it is that I simply am not. 

“Young people are, and should be great sources of chaos!”
- Jackie Hill, Acton Academy Hampton Roads

“Nothing taught by force stays in the soul.”
-Plato

These learners, when given the opportunity, independence, and responsibility, will regularly and with authority prove me wrong. They will come up with better systems, solutions, and answers than I could even imagine. The studio will often and regularly dissolve into chaos but they will recognize it and course-correct far more effectively than my shouting and demands for compliance would ever accomplish and they will take pride in that fact.

It is that same pride in themselves, the recognition of their own voices, and the responsibility accepted that creates the buy-in at our school. It’s what we mean when we use the term “learner-lead.” We still have to scaffold things for them. Guides must demonstrate and help the learners practice the expected behaviors and slowly turn over more and more responsibility continually making themselves smaller and less necessary as each learner takes more and more control of their own education. This is a significant blow to my pride. Our goal is that they don't need us anymore.

So maybe this laughter is distracting, perhaps it is forcing me to stop for a moment and reflect and write. Perhaps it is just me avoiding this to-do list. But the raw emotion of that laughter, the pleasure expressed in their current task, the love of learning, the chaos, the learner-led-ness of it, is worth the distraction.

Dave Heiniger
Head of School
Chisholm Creek Academy