> If their day consisted of outdoor free play, they wouldn't actually be learning
Are you serious? You think that young children don’t learn from free play? What in the world is your definition of “learning”?
> how much the teacher needs to [..] test for
Oh I see. You mean “learning” as judged exclusively by standardized multiple-choice tests.
Well fine, it’s not exactly surprising that if we force children to spend 5+ hours per day sitting in rows in desks working independently filling out busywork worksheets or watching teachers solve similar trivial exercises on a whiteboard, they will be better at doing the same thing for arbitrary test points than someone who hasn’t spent any time practicing that, even if both kids think the test is a pointless waste of time.... but that doesn’t really indicate anything at all about children’s abilities more generally.
If we instead measured the kids’ balance, strength, running speed, hand-eye coordination, intuitive understanding of physics, ability to improvise mechanical devices from found objects, knowledge of local plants and animals, emotional self-understanding and self-control, negotiation and bargaining skills, social organization/leadership, .... we would find that the professional worksheet-fillers are years behind their playing peers.
Some of the most capable (even at book-smarts) people I ever met were absolutely horrid throughout school, but then did amazing things after. Others never went to school at all and still did amazing things. Others I know aced every test right up through college, and then had no idea what to do afterward, because they had never really been forced to think for themselves.
Getting children to be as successful as possible at multiple-choice tests at age 8 is not a good top priority for the education system.
Are you serious? You think that young children don’t learn from free play? What in the world is your definition of “learning”?
> how much the teacher needs to [..] test for
Oh I see. You mean “learning” as judged exclusively by standardized multiple-choice tests.
Well fine, it’s not exactly surprising that if we force children to spend 5+ hours per day sitting in rows in desks working independently filling out busywork worksheets or watching teachers solve similar trivial exercises on a whiteboard, they will be better at doing the same thing for arbitrary test points than someone who hasn’t spent any time practicing that, even if both kids think the test is a pointless waste of time.... but that doesn’t really indicate anything at all about children’s abilities more generally.
If we instead measured the kids’ balance, strength, running speed, hand-eye coordination, intuitive understanding of physics, ability to improvise mechanical devices from found objects, knowledge of local plants and animals, emotional self-understanding and self-control, negotiation and bargaining skills, social organization/leadership, .... we would find that the professional worksheet-fillers are years behind their playing peers.
Some of the most capable (even at book-smarts) people I ever met were absolutely horrid throughout school, but then did amazing things after. Others never went to school at all and still did amazing things. Others I know aced every test right up through college, and then had no idea what to do afterward, because they had never really been forced to think for themselves.
Getting children to be as successful as possible at multiple-choice tests at age 8 is not a good top priority for the education system.