Hacking Education,Why it’s Needed.

When it comes to education, the first thing I think of is math, English, and science. When I think of hacking, I think of using a computer to gain unauthorized access. So how do you “hack” education and why would you want you?

Hacking education is something that I had never heard of, but it is something that I am very interested in. After watching Logan LaPlante’s TED talk and reading Centering on Essential Lenses , hacking is something that I hope to be able to successfully incorporate into my own classroom. I have gained new perspective on education and how essential play, creation, and the 8 TLC’s (exercise, diet and nutrition, time in nature, contribution and service, relationships, recreation, relaxation and stress management, and religious and spiritual involvement) positively impact learning. How do we make education intriguing and keep students truly happy and excited about learning as well as keeping them healthy?

 Photo CC By- Eric E Castro

Centering Education around Making a Life

I was interested to see how Logan LaPlante’s education is based around his interests and the 8 TLC’s. He is open to many educational approaches; while being involved in his community, he gets the opportunity to truly experience first hand what he would be learning at a desk all day. Isn’t that awesome? While most students “sit and get” in a classroom, Logan is learning life lessons through his passion of skiing. He is interested in his subject, so he stays engaged and is encouraged to learn more. From the sounds of it, he is not bored in any way, he is learning social and career skills as well as how to survive in nature. He has experience in finding ways to work through stressful situations, but most of all, he is happy. I think it is amazing that, Logan, has a good idea about what he would like to do for a career, but I think that it is even better that he is already getting his foot in the door with his internship. He is making a life for himself at such a young age, which truly is inspiring!

Why Hack

I want my future students to have these same experiences that Logan has. I want them to center their education around making their life, because I didn’t really get that opportunity, and I think it would have been amazing. I am so extremely bored with school and have been for a very long time, it’s not fun or interesting to me. The only thing that keeps me going now, is that I am almost to the point of graduation. I don’t want to put my students in that same position. I want them to go out in the community, have fun, and be able to come back to me and tell me what connections they have made to their lessons. I want their homework to be real life experiences instead of worksheets or math problems. I want them to be able to guide their learning by their interests, and if they are already proficient at a certain level, I would like them to be able to move on to the next level instead of waiting around and becoming bored; that seems to be where you lose student’s love for learning. Most of all, I want them to be happy. I want them to be able to find their passions at an early age, so they are not still searching for what they want to be in their later stages of life.

We live in a fast paced world where we have most answers at the tips of our fingers. Why not allow students the same opportunities and take control of their education? Instead of talking about motivation, why not give them the tools and opportunities to be motivated by?

 Photo CC By- Eric E Castro