Would education be more productive if lessons were based more on "fun"?

Question

Going to school for 15 or so years during an age where most would rather be playing,.. would school education be more productive if the things you had to learn were based on having "fun"? Especially before the high school years.

Answer 1

of course. it is a leftover feeling from historical attitudes that learning is supposed to be about "discipline" and "working". if you look at cultures around the world, non-Westernized cultures where there is not a structured education system, you'll see that children have been educated through the millenia by observation, imitation, and play. you would think that our failing education system and falling test scores would indicate a problem in our ability to educate traditionally, and that we might want to change our approach.

school should not be a prison, a detention center, a child-version of work, or a punishment. it should be a joy. full of fun and the excitement of learning. things can be "fun" and difficult, "fun" and challenging...

but hey, i don't hold out hope for the school system one bit. just look at the other answers you received: we're collectively deep in an illusion where learning is "hard work" and definitely NOT FUN. that's why i homeschool.

Answer 2

No matter how much "fun" there is, if there is no clear educational objective (undirected play), students will not learn the necessary variety of skills and knowledge, except how to have fun, which most of them already have. In addition, is your life fun every day? If kids have nothing but fun, they will never learn how to survive as adults, when life isn't so much fun. You'd see a soaring suicide rate shortly after school was done. Finally, some knowledge simply isn't fun to learn. Also, what some people find fun, others think is torture. I think reading is fun. I think standing up in front of a lot of people and making a speech is fun. I think writing long essays is fun. I think sitting around in groups and discussing an academic point is fun. I don't think playing volleyball is fun. You get the point.

That is not to say that hands-on, inquiry-based learning, learning projects, authentic learning, collaborative learning etc., are not more effective modes of learning than students sitting in rows listening to lectures and taking tests. But even those things are not always fun for all students, and no matter what a teacher does, most children would find it a lot more "fun" to be outside in totally undirected play, so by comparison, learning will never be "fun."

Answer 3

The formative years before high school, a child must learn the basics of Reading , Writing, Arithmetic, to a acquire the discipline of learning. That's not to say a wonderful teacher can't make those lessons fun and interesting to the children. Many teachers do, and the children still learn. There's a time for play and a time for structure.

Answer 4

Well, I suppose, but then, would teaching be more productive if it was fun? Would collecting garbage be more productive if it was more fun? Would working in a dept. store be more productive if it were fun? Anything is better if it is fun, but life is not one big "fun". The reality is, sometimes we have to do things, just because we have to do them. It is unfortunate, but there is a whole lot of difference trying to teach 25 students something as opposed to 1 or 2 being homeschooled.

Answer 5

When students get bored they tend to not pay attention and fall asleep. So if a teacher can combine fun and still have the kids know they are learning is a great way to teach. My 10th grade history teacher was one of the best teachers i know. He never just gave you a worksheet and said here do this. He was always doing activities and getting into the topic and he seemed to really be able to get kids into liking the subject too.

Answer 6

I find that hands-on, investigative lessons foster the most interest among my students. This seems to correlate with better scores as well. I agree, BUT, some times the three R's aren't going to be fun. And learning how to learn (study skills, memorization techniques, etc.) are necessary when college comes around and it isn't so "fun"

:-)

Answer 7

Who said it's not? It's up to the teacher to take the state-mandated curriculum and add enough flexibility and diversity to it to make it seem "fun." Attitudes such as your might give a child the wrong impression: don't tell your child that it's not fun or you didn't like a certain subject. If you speak ill of the educational system, they will believe you. Let them find out for themselves that it's not as bad as YOU think it is.

Answer 8

Actually, a good and effective teacher always tries to make learning fun, and it is. She or he just must inspire the students, and share the love of learning.

Answer 9

Did the people who invented the airplane, the automobile, the cure for Polio, and discovered gravity, speed of light, etc. have a "fun" education?

Answer 10

in a way yes but then you'll be spoiling them . The teacher its their methods that get through their students.after all they see more children (reguardless of age) on a daily basis to try to understand a students behavior and thoughts thus making a map for the teacher to use to guide them.