Why am I learning this?

When I was an elementary and high school student, I would always ask my teachers, why do I need to learn this? Oftentimes, I would get no response or something along the lines of, “you just have to”, but that answer never sat right with me. Despite all the years of asking this question, I never tried to answer it myself, but it wasn’t until recently, after reflecting on my journey as a student and educator, that I really started to analyze it: Why do students ask this question, and how should we respond?

It took a Grade 10 math session to bring it all back. We were reviewing substitution and elimination and finding the point of intersection when all of a sudden the famous question surfaced: why am I learning this? My immediate thought was that karma struck me, but worse than that, I did not have a response. I went home that day and thought about how I let that student down, especially since I was the one helping with the material. Reflecting on the situation, I realized that this question is a symptom of difficulty and disengagement. When students no longer feel like performing a task, they ask why they need to do it, so there is a reason for their effort. Without a clear goal or purpose, the struggle feels pointless. Considering this, it makes sense that students question their learning if they are never told what it is for or how it ties into society.

Ever since that moment, it has now been my goal to have a meaningful response ready. Providing real-world applications is a great first step, but if a student isn't interested in that specific field, the example won't resonate. Rather than knowing what this specific concept is for, it is better to frame it as mental training. In other words, we aren’t getting students to solve for x and y, instead we are getting students to be able to think mathematically, creatively, scientifically etc. The truth is that you never know when something will be useful, but life will always throw things at you that will require you to think in different ways. 

One of my objectives as a teacher is to provide examples of real world applications for each of my lessons and emphasize cognitive habits. I truly believe that this is an important philosophy and perspective to have as an educator because it adds further meaning to each lesson. Importantly, by providing these examples, I will be prepared for student questions and students will be able to see the value in each lesson.

Link for how to respond to: Why Do I Have to Learn This?’

https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-responses-to-why-do-i-have-to-learn-this/2020/05 

MichaelK@NUO