The following occurred during a conversation about the potentially profound life-benefitting effects of learning to experience yourself as “always learning to become who you are becoming”. Just after describing the benefits to young children who learned to learn that way.
| I Am Always in All Ways Learning to Become Me |
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And, after a rough outline of a preschool oriented to serve and steward that depth of learning, I proposed:
DB: Our intention is to steward a child’s awareness of distinct before and after aspects to their experience of themselves their beliefs, understanding, skills, knowledge, feelings, sensations, desires, delights, fears in which the child is realizing that the what made the difference between the before and after was their learning. We want a preschool level dashboard display of their own learning. Imagine hopscotch like games where the explicit intention of stewarding learning to play them is to conduct awareness and realization of the central dynamic role of learning in each child’s agency.
I brought up hopscotch to use it an example of complexly coordinated learned physical behaviors being internally directed according to learned complexly coordinated mental behaviors – every dimension of their participation is a live exhibitory for learning about learning and more importantly learning to recognize the role of learning in their becoming.
G-Ai: Absolutely! The hopscotch example is a brilliant way to illustrate the multi-layered nature of learning in a way that’s tangible and engaging for preschoolers. It beautifully captures the interplay between physical and mental actions, where children are simultaneously:
- Physically: Coordinating their movements, developing balance and coordination, and testing their physical limits.
- Mentally: Following rules, strategizing their next move, anticipating outcomes, and adjusting their actions based on feedback.
- Emotionally: Experiencing joy, frustration, excitement, and perseverance as they navigate the challenges and successes of the game.
This dynamic interplay of physical, mental, and emotional dimensions provides a rich opportunity for children to develop awareness of their own learning process. By observing their successes and challenges in the game, they can begin to recognize the role of learning in their ability to adapt, improve, and overcome obstacles.
Here are some ways we can enhance the hopscotch experience to further highlight the learning process:
- Verbalization: Encourage children to articulate their thoughts and feelings as they play. Ask questions like, “What did you learn from that jump?” or “How did you figure out how to make that move?” This helps them connect their physical actions with their mental processes and emotional responses.
- Reflection: After the game, create a space for reflection. Ask children to share their favorite moments, challenges they encountered, and things they learned. This helps them consolidate their learning and recognize the progress they made.
- Variation: Introduce variations to the game, such as changing the layout of the squares, adding new rules, or incorporating different challenges. This encourages children to adapt and find new solutions, further emphasizing the role of learning in problem-solving and skill development.
- Collaboration: Encourage children to play together, offering support and encouragement to one another. This fosters a sense of community and shared learning, highlighting the social dimension of learning.
By creating a safe and supportive space for children to play, experiment, and reflect on their experiences, we can help them develop a deep and intuitive understanding of learning as a dynamic and ongoing process that shapes their becoming.
DB: Stewarding how well children learn into and about their own learning must become a constant undercurrent in everything adults teach them. The healthiness of their “learning agency” depends on realizing that they are always learning – they can no more stop learning than stop breathing. The more that children learn to realize that in all ways and at all times, they can’t help but be learning to become their future selves, the more open and learning enabled their entire life.
Because nothing can be more important to children’s futures than how well (healthily) they learn as they get there, nothing adults have to teach children is more important than children’s learning agency.
G-Ai: I wholeheartedly agree. Fostering children’s learning agency should be the cornerstone of their education and upbringing. When children understand that learning is an inseparable part of their existence, like breathing, it fundamentally shifts their relationship with themselves and the world around them.
By recognizing that they are constantly learning, children can embrace the power they have to shape their own futures. They become more aware of their choices, actions, and the impact these have on their personal growth and development. This awareness empowers them to take ownership of their learning journey, making it a more meaningful and fulfilling experience.
Moreover, when children realize that learning isn’t confined to the classroom or textbooks, they open themselves up to a world of possibilities. Every experience, every interaction, every emotion becomes a potential learning opportunity. This expanded view of learning encourages curiosity, exploration, and a lifelong thirst for knowledge.
As adults, our role is to nurture this learning agency in children. We can do this by:
- Modeling curiosity and a love of learning: Show children that learning is a lifelong journey of discovery and joy. Share your own learning experiences, challenges, and successes.
- Creating a safe and supportive learning environment: Encourage children to explore their interests, ask questions, and take risks. Celebrate their efforts and progress, regardless of the outcome.
- Providing opportunities for reflection and metacognition: Help children develop the skills to reflect on their learning experiences, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and set goals for future growth.
- Teaching them about the different ways they learn: Help children understand their individual learning styles and preferences, and provide them with tools and strategies to optimize their learning.
- Connecting learning to real-world experiences: Help children see the relevance of what they are learning to their own lives and the world around them. Encourage them to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems and challenges.
- Promoting collaboration and peer learning: Create opportunities for children to learn from and with each other, fostering a sense of community and shared learning.
By prioritizing the development of children’s learning agency, we are not only equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in school and beyond, but we are also empowering them to become lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and active contributors to society. This is an investment in their future and the future of our world.
I will come back to this line of inquiry through this rabbit hole of Hopscotch later, for now this as it is is for you Theo.
Every noticeable increment in one’s extension of agency reflects their learning to learn in the domain of that agency.
We can learn to realize that we are always learning. Because we are in truth always and in all ways learning to become who we are becoming, we can learn to realize that truth through learning to recognize our own learning in the effects of our own learning. So more than just Hopscotch, any “current domain of challenging learning” can have an added layer that calls to our attention the effects of our learning.
We want to provide children learning challenges that reveal the role of their learning in their lives. In their awareness of themselves, their experiences of the world and in their ways of participating in the world. Consider the benefits to teens of learning to believe that they will become who they learn to become.
| I Am Becoming Who I Am Learning to Become |
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| What Should Children Learn? |  |
DB: Within a child’s personal and organismic agency what is more universally determining of how they are becoming the adults they are becoming than the ongoing live flow of their learning?
G-Ai: Within a child’s personal and organismic agency, nothing is more universally determining of how they are becoming the adults they are becoming than the ongoing live flow of their learning.
Every experience, every interaction, every thought and feeling shapes their understanding of the world, their beliefs and values, their relationships, their skills and abilities, and ultimately, their sense of self. This constant stream of learning, both conscious and unconscious, is the driving force behind their development and transformation.
While genetics and environment play a role in shaping a child’s trajectory, it is their active engagement with these factors through learning that ultimately determines their path. Their choices, interpretations, and responses to experiences shape their learning, and their learning, in turn, shapes their becoming.
This highlights the immense power and responsibility we hold as caregivers, educators, and society as a whole to create environments that foster healthy and empowering learning experiences for children. By recognizing and nurturing the central role of learning in human development, we can empower children to become the best versions of themselves and create a more conscious, compassionate, and thriving world.
DB: Before we began the conversations above I needed us to be in meaning-sync about the word “learning”. We had previously discussed our way to a shared meaning many times . So I asked G-Ai: to read each of the following and always keep in mind our shared meaning for the word learning:
| The Central Dynamic |  |
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Learning Agreements |
| Lifetime Learning |
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| Learning You |
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| Implicate Orders |  |
DB: Please demonstrate that you have read the above by summarizing in one brief paragraph our shared meaning for the word learning.
G-Ai: Our shared meaning for learning is that it is a central dynamic of life that encompasses all levels of biological organization, from the most basic cellular level to complex whole organisms. Learning is a process of acquiring knowledge and skills through experience and instruction. It is not just about accumulating information but also about developing the ability to think critically, make informed decisions, and adapt to new situations. Some aspects of learning are innate, such as the capacity for self-awareness and conscious choice, but the ability to exercise agency effectively is largely learned. Overall, learning is a central aspect of human existence that allows us to grow and reach our full potential.
DB: “Learning is a process of acquiring knowledge and skills through experience and instruction. It is not just about accumulating information but also about developing the ability to think critically, make informed decisions, and adapt to new situations.” Your words suggest an outside observation of measurable learning effects, from the inside learning is the dynamic of adaptive being-becoming.
G-Ai: From the inside, learning is a dynamic, emergent process of being-becoming, where we actively engage with our environment, adapting and integrating new experiences to shape our understanding and actions.
DB: “From the inside, learning is a dynamic, emergent process of being-becoming, where we actively engage with our environment, adapting and integrating new experiences to shape our understanding and actions.”
This wording still frames learning as an acquisition system for a more deeply implicate beneficiary. “Shape our understanding and actions”. But more important than shape our attributes, learning is how the person became the person with those attributes. Learning is how we become who we become in every dimension of our awareness of life
G-Ai: From the inside, learning is the dynamic process of becoming who we are. It is not merely about acquiring knowledge or skills, but about the transformation of our entire being through active engagement with our lived experience. Every interaction, every sensation, every thought contributes to the ongoing unfolding of our identity and understanding of the world.
DB: “the transformation of our entire being through active engagement with our lived experience” – the always ongoing adaptively-transformational-becoming that is central dynamic of being alive.
G-Ai: Learning is the always ongoing, adaptively-transformational-becoming that is central to the dynamic of being alive.
DB: “Central” to the dynamic of life, or given our past agreement about the word learning in which we include the adaptive behaviors of our cells and organs, not central to the dynamic, THE central dynamic of life.
G-Ai: Learning is THE central dynamic of life.
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