Dalat students think innovatively by being self-directed and goal-oriented learners.

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A few years ago, I was sponsoring a class of students where the adults and student leaders were frustrated with each other over communication. The students said, “I sent a message and you didn’t reply for hours.” The adults said, “This is a new communication app that I’ve never used and I don’t check it often.” One of the students proposed what she thought was a simple solution. “Adults, tell us which app you want to use and we’ll move our communication to that one. It’s easier for us to learn something new than you.” So, we took her advice and switched to the platform the adults preferred. Problem solved!
 
As I reflected on this situation, I wonder if we made the best decisions. We all chose the simplest and most efficient means of solving the problem, but did we as the adults give up an opportunity to learn something new from the students? Were we unwilling to learn and change? And do our students really think that it’s harder for adults to learn new things than for kids?
 
As I consider helping our students become self-directed and goal-oriented learners, I realize that one of the most important steps we can take is to model this. We also need to set goals, prioritize learning new things, and follow through. We can talk with the students about our own process in deciding what to learn and how to accomplish it.
 

I’ll admit that I often find myself with so much to do that I don’t take time to try to learn new things. In a conversation recently with a different student, she told me that she has several hobbies. During school breaks, she tries to learn something new or improve her skills in one of those areas. I was impressed with her dedication to keep learning new things on her own, and this is exactly what we are trying to develop in our students. But it made me reflect on my own life and pushed me to ponder on what new skills or hobbies I could develop.

Only when we are willing to try new things can we expect our kids to do the same. When was the last time you learned something new? How did you learn it? What was the payoff for you? How did learning this make you feel? If it’s been so long that you can’t remember, maybe it’s time to set a new goal and pursue it.

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