The secret of education . . .
. . . is cookies.
Let me explain why I think students want the sweet stuff.
Watch our Truth in Two to find out why (full text and hyperlink to Dr. James Braley below)
“How sweet are your words to my taste” (Psalm 119:103).
Subscribe to “Truth in Two” videos from Comenius (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), hosts a weekly radio program with diverse groups of guests (1 minute video), and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).
Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat
FULL TEXT
The famed children’s show Sesame Street incorporated a lovable character called Cookie Monster. The title was given to me by my mom for the obvious reason that I loved cookies. And I still do.
My cookie craving coincides with my educational beliefs. I believe education can be reduced to one simple rule: put the cookies on the bottom shelf.
The belief is that everyone wants cookies. The sweet flavor makes our collective mouths water. And so, I think, that down deep there is a longing in every person to know more, to discover, to learn, to be able to reach the “cookies” of what I am teaching.
My job as a teacher is to make sure everyone has access to the cookies. If I make those round, sugary orbs hard to reach, students may give up. If I make the cookies too easy to reach, no one will try.
Education is like this. There is a shelf of knowledge just outside your reach. My job is to place a step-stool in the kitchen, make sure you see it and know how to use it.
I feel badly for students who must put up with teachers who make learning boring (the knowledge is too easy to access) or teachers who make learning difficult (the knowledge is to hard to access).
How do I, as a teacher, help my students get to the educational cookies? It’s not just about the curriculum. It is about the living curriculum. As my educational father, Dr. James Braley, once said, “The teacher is the living curriculum.” I lower myself so students can go higher to reach the cookies.
For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, President of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.
Read my Eulogy about my educational father, Dr. Jim Braley, here.