What Everyone Ought to Know About Learning

It is a universal truth that babies and young children love to learn! Think of the laughter, the focused determination followed by smiles and delight when they figure something out.  Have you ever considered why by age 10 many children already dread school? Unfortunately, as Einstein once said, “Curiosity rarely survives formal education.”

This is tragic! Curiosity, creativity, and compassion are at the root of learning!

Fortunately, Dr. Maria Montessori, based on her observations of children’s intrinsic motivation to learn, developed the belief that

“Education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the individual, and is acquired not by listening to words, but by experiences in the environment.”

What does that mean? It means that people naturally want to learn; learning makes us happy! At Hillsboro, we believe your child should be happy and challenged in her learning, and yes, both can happen at the same time! And curiosity, compassion, and creativity should always be preserved.

Take a look at this kindergartener’s joy! He is so happy. Why? Because he took ownership of his own learning! The original lesson began with him making “at” words. After creating seven of those, he looked up at me and exclaimed, “I want to fill this whole table with words!” And he did! He learned something, challenged himself, and then succeeded! His face captures the love of learning that our environment supports each day through the learning opportunities we plan for our students. 

Over the upcoming semester, visit Hillsboro and see our students’ joy in learning.  Witness the classroom reimagined!