I enjoy business and personal development books – something from my previous life of being an accountant. What I am really hooked on at the moment is the Simon Sinek book “Start with Why”.
Why? If we don’t know why we are doing something, then we lose perspective of what we are trying to achieve – the why? Why are we learning addition? Why are we learning how to read? Why do I need to colour in the lines carefully?
These ‘whys’ determine how engaged we are.
Without understanding why we are doing things, we lack engagement. We lack empowerment. We lack motivation. We lack everything. How many times have you heard an adult say “Why did we learn algebra in school?”. They never made connections to the writing in a book to what is happening in their everyday life. Yes, we may not use the complex calculations – but we use the concept of algebra daily.
If you don’t know why you need to learn to read – why try. Most of the time reading is just something kids are told to do. But if you really delve into what their passions are then you will probably find reading will be an integral part of developing their passion.
We are currently exploring the PYP trandisciplinary theme: How we express ourselves, Different forms of expression help us share information, ideas and feelings. We have flipped our inquiry.
Instead of unpacking the central idea, as we are told to do each time, we are working out the why first. Our lines of inquiry are formed around the golden circle:
- Why we express ourselves (Why)
- The different ways we express ourselves (How)
- Information, ideas and feelings we express (What)
Grade 1 students have connected with getting out feelings, letting our bodies tell us things, sharing information, to have fun or to let someone know about something. If they can work out how it is important to them (THE WHY), they can then think about how they want to express themselves.
The process of starting with WHY is new and we are still developing our understanding of what it means and how to incorporate it into inquiry – but already we see the value in the WHY.