What is SDE?

Learning happens everywhere and all the time
It does not occur in one building, at one time of day, with one kind of educator, with only peers of the same age, or in the form of pre-selected subjects.  Instead, learning happens through observation and experience, as young people connect with each other and their community, encounter the natural world and engage in cultural or social events. 

This central tenet of SDE is sometimes considered a recent idea but has deep roots in the history of educational thought. For centuries, educational thinkers noted that separating education from everyday life alienates children from their communities and themselves by limiting their ability to ‘see’ and take advantage of the learning opportunities in every moment.  

Everyone is an educator
Anyone with wisdom, skills, or knowledge to impart, whether or not they have an academic degree, has much to offer young people. 
The association of learning and teaching with institutionalized schools and schoolteachers limits children’s educational experience and cuts them off from many potential mentors. By creating a revolving door of learning between young people and members of their community, we aim to give children access to a variety of people and professions.

Art, music, crafts, and other creative endeavors are fundamental
Creative pursuits are not luxuries or digressions from “real” (academic) learning. They are the building blocks of knowledge, self-awareness, confidence, and well-being.

Before children enter school, their creative, intellectual, and emotional growth are often seamlessly integrated. We praise young children for their artistic sensibilities and spontaneous creations. However, once they enter school, the time allotted for creative endeavors shrinks, and our view of creativity is transformed. Art, music, and craft are separated from intellectual learning and presented as luxuries children can only access in specialized settings (classes, programs, and camps). Or, we reserve these opportunities for individuals deemed “talented.” 

Separating creativity from “academic” development has deprived young people of one of the most powerful, joyous, and expansive forms of learning. And from activities that can provide much solace and inspiration in difficult times. (For one of the most seminal TED talks on this issue, see Ken Robinson’s “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”

Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation (learning driven by choice, an abiding passion, or a set of interests) leads children to engage deeply in an activity, gives them confidence in their capacities, and inspires a love of learning. 

Learning driven by extrinsic motivation (passing a test, fearing or pleasing an adult, being accepted into a good school) can alienate children from their own interests and from themselves. At the same time, it tends to build a habit of doing things that others have identified as valuable, without the chance to question whether these things are valuable to them. 

Young people can contribute to their world at any age, not just when they are released from school as young adults
Children often spend their youth reading about freedom, democracy,  and activism, while living lives in which they have little choice or autonomy. And yet they are capable, thoughtful, active, problem solvers at a very young age. Young people can practice freedom by engaging in activities or supporting causes that are relevant to their communities or the world. Doing so encourages participation rather than passivity, and offers a sense of meaning, membership, and belonging in a time when so many are suffering from a lack of both. 

Play is the foundational and most active way that young people learn and socialize
When play is part of their learning experience, young people's minds are open, their energies high, their bodies activated, and their relationships vibrant. This is also true of adults! (I describe more about this in my book Inside the Box).

Play is not meant only for young children, and it is not separated from or in conflict with learning. Rather than being a diversion from “real work” play releases the mind to absorb knowledge, build skills and discover genuine interest. It is also central to the development of healthy social interactions. Many scholars have linked the dearth of play, especially unsupervised play, to the mental health crisis young people are facing today.

“Doing nothing” does not signify a lack of motivation and discipline, or laziness

Children need significant periods of downtime during which they can absorb learning, reflect on their world, discover themselves, process their worries, and regenerate.

Many of our ideas about children are influenced by prejudices and fears. As a society we have come to believe that without constant supervision, guidance, and control, young people will become undisciplined, lazy, or will get into trouble. It seems they should be doing something productive in every movement of the day: actively learning something related to school, participating in an organized sport, or practicing their music.

The result is that children’s lives are constantly monitored and over-scheduled with school and afterschool activities. They’re often tired, stressed, unfocused, and have little time to unwind, enjoy life, play, and just BE. As adults, we sometimes try to reverse the consequences of this high-stress existence through meditation and a slow-down attitude to life. But we could also prevent it from becoming the norm by changing our beliefs about children and childhood.  

When Christopher Robin told Poo that “doing nothing” means “just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering”, he was saying something very deep about what human beings need to be well.

The boredom that emerges when we’re doing something we dislike can be life-draining. However, boredom, when we’re not sure what to do, pushes us to experience our surroundings in new ways and can be a portal to creativity and self-determination.

Learning with head, hands, and heart
Children learn best when engaging simultaneously with their heads, hearts, and hands—the way many learned intuitively before they entered school. (LINK GANDHI)

There is much talk in educational circles about educating the “whole child.” And yet, in many settings, learning does not include the physical, embodied, hands-on learning that is so natural for children and integral to a whole-body experience. An indirect, negative effect of this has been implicitly conveying to children that people with academic degrees are valued over those who work with their hands and hearts. This attitude also discourages young people from developing their own non-academic interests or talents. We can shift this by making heart and hand learning an integral part of each child’s education. (link to manish articles)

SDE is as early as time
As many practitioners and scholars have shown, SDE might appear radical when contrasted with compulsory schooling, but it was the original way we all learned, in hunter gatherer societies and still today in many indigenous cultures.

In schools children are asked to learn primarily through books, in a sedentary manner, removed from their families and communities, and in the same way at the same age.  This is despite the vast differences in their physical, emotional, and intellectual dispositions, and their backgrounds and lived experiences. In contrast, children in the past learned within their communities, from their elders and multi-aged peers, by observation and experience, with their bodies as well as their minds, by engaging in free and often unsupervised play, and through trial and error. Many proponents of SDE are inspired by how this way of learning gives young people confidence, a sense of independence, a resilience in the face of challenge.