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Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. ~Benjamin Franklin
Recently I read a book called How We Learn by Benedict Carey. One thing he wrote about was how little of our history we have shoved kids into a room to learn and tested them on it. We haven't evolved to take in information only by listening. We started out learning by doing.
The best part about a traditional school room is getting characters together. Listening to teachers lecture, even in a book setting, is likely to put me to sleep. (Are you with me?) Your characters are much more likely to be active when they learn as part of the story unfolding in a different way.
As writers, we must balance what we know - since most of us grew up in traditional school settings - with what we create in our societies of fantasy and science fiction and everything speculative. We don't have to corral the students into a small room and cram information down their throats until they want to claw out their eyes.
Think about all the books you remember reading where the main character had to learn. I'm sure Harry Potter would have come out much differently if he had been apprenticed to a wizard instead of getting thrown into wizard boarding school. I'm equally certain Percy Jackson would have wrecked his desk if he had been stuffed into one.
What if you're not writing a book that involves mass education for youngsters? Your characters still had to learn something. They still needed some sort of education to get them to the point where they are. Protagonists look back to their mentors and their supporters as they achieve more and their naysayers as they prove predictions inaccurate. Your roommate, classmate, or whomever else shares this educational experience will have interactions that change both of them in the future.
In an apprenticeship or homeschool situation, there are going to be differences. This doesn't necessarily mean the character must be isolated. This might involve going out in the community and becoming familiar with people and situations of many different kinds and the focus might become away from just the youngsters who would populate a mass educational center. While it may lack a camaraderie among a troop of like-aged individuals, it may also avoid bullying of the weaker students.
However your character comes to education - and don't forget the worth of the 'school of hard knocks' - this is going to be the basis for their career in the future and all their actions. Build carefully and allow that character to grow.
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Fantasy: April 15, 2015 Issue [#6937]
