Misconception #2: Teachers struggle to teach because kids don’t want to learn

Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.

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Kids are more interested in playing video games than learning. This is one of the many problems that the schools use to justify our reliance on what they do. I have to agree that students would rather be entertained than to learn. At least this is true of those in the demographics to which video games currently appeal. There is no denying that high school students who have spent the bulk of their lives being told that learning must be a chore will lose the desire to learn.

When we are babies, we want to be able to communicate.  We want to be able to move efficiently from one place to another. We make the effort to learn to walk and talk. Kids frequently show signs of a healthy curiosity of the world around them. Children are born with a strong desire to learn.

When teachers whine about how their students don’t want to learn, why don’t they ever mention kindergarteners? It’s quite simple. Kindergarteners have not yet had the schools crush their desires to learn. Most high school students have. The few high school students who maintain the desire to learn are treated as outcasts by their teachers. Regardless of what teachers have been claiming, they do not want their students to show an interest in learning anything because learning can distract children from their schoolwork.