“Why” matters

“Why must I learn this?”
I always asked this question as a kid.
The common replies are:

• “I don’t really know”
• “Because it’s tested in the exam”
• “Just do it, you will understand why next time”
• “You will use it next year if you take X subject”

Honestly, these answers never really satisfied my curiosity.
Soon I stopped asking why.
Eventually I just followed mindlessly along.

Though, that nagging feeling that something was off always stayed with me.
Something about school just doesn’t quite resonate with real life.

Now that I’m out of the system, I understand what’s missing.
The difference between learning in school vs learning in real life.
In school, we are often taught concepts just-in-case (JIC) we need it.

• We study the Hooke’s law just-in-case (JIC) we need it.
• We study Shakespeare’s poems just-in-case (JIC) we need it.
• We study the structures of a benzene ring just-in-case (JIC) we need it.

“Just in case we need it” alone is a poor reason for learning.
That’s why I’ve forgotten most of these things!
My excuse is I have no reason to keep these concepts in my brain.
It’s poor because most people stop learning after they exit the system!

In real life, we have no time to learn things just-in-case.
We need better ways to learn something new!
Better WHYs, WHEN and HOW we learn.

In real life,

• we search youtube and learn about suspension springs just-in-time to fix that faulty bicycle.
  
• we research companies and learn to write a compelling title just-in-time for our product launch.
  
• we search wiki and learn about aromatic compounds just-in-time to make our custom perfume gift.
  

In real life, learning always takes place in the context of an application.
“Why” we need this concept, this piece of knowledge, comes BEFORE the actual learning.
Learning is done just-in-time (JIT), not just-in-case (JIC)!

I believe that the “why” is largely missing in today’s education system.
Without it, the beauty of learning is lost.
We leave our schools less curious than when we started.

That’s why I believe that the future of education needs to better address the “why”.

Two parters

⊕ “Context is worth 80 IQ points” ~ Alan Kay

Understanding “why” has 2 parts.
Past context and present context.

First, a student needs to understand the CONTEXT in which a concept was formed in the PAST.
For example, let’s look at housing policies concepts.
What problems were the policy makers trying to solve?
What tools did they have at hand?
What were their hidden incentives?
Half the battle is won just by understanding why the concept existed to begin with.

Second, the students need to understand how that CONTEXT relates to their PRESENT world.
Drawing similarities between context of the past and the context of today.
Adapting and moulding the concept to apply it for themselves.
Through this practice, we can see a true mark of mastery, and a clear demonstration of a complete understanding of
“WHY I learned this”.

Poorly positioned

Achieving the first part is not easy.
Teachers that do that well are hard to come by.

Achieving the second part appears to be even more challenging.

Why?
Teachers are not positioned to do it well!
They are not blessed with the opportunity to put these ideas into practice and see it through to execution.
To wrestle with all aspects of the idea as it clashes head on with the messy nature of reality,
and developing deep appreciation for the idea through that experience.
That’s the job of a practitioner of the craft, not a school teacher.

We know this.
Business teachers love to invite big business owners to the classroom.
Physics teachers love to invite engineers to the classroom.
Basketball coaches love to invite NBA players to the lockerroom.

Teachers value the PRESENT CONTEXT these industry professionals bring.
Their experiences showcase how concepts apply to the real world,
bringing relevance to the material students study,
inspiring the students to learn.
They are better positioned to answer the second part.

Untapped potential

What if engineers, doctors, designers, leaders were invited into the classrooms.

To share the things they put into practice which they find interesting.
To share the contexts of the big problems they are solving.
To share the motivations behind their learning.

So that students walk away
knowing what they are chasing,
knowing where they are heading,
knowing why they are learning.

Why wouldn’t that be wonderful?