INTRODUCTION: FREE LEARNING
In the previous edition of Thinking Matters , we asked the question: ‘what should good learning look like?’ In this edition we will explore how to promote learning for learning’s sake.
Free Learning is a term which has become common parlance at the College and denotes an aspect of Dulwich education of which we are truly proud. Free Learning means the learning that goes on when teaching is freed from the constraints of covering the syllabus or teaching to the exam, and is driven by the intellectual curiosity of the boys and fed by the enthusiasm of their teachers. This booklet abounds with examples of boys pursuing their academic passions in our ‘supra-curriculum’, the area that exists between the classroom and the co-curricular sphere. Such projects enable boys to develop their creativity, independence and sate (or perhaps extend) their thirst for knowledge. Whilst the majority of today’s young people, the ‘YouTube Generation’, learn about the world around them through screens, these activities empower boys to learn by doing and debating. They are pioneers, in Kennedy’s famous words, taking their first steps into robot design, performing in a major concert or giving a presentation to their peers “not because [it is] easy, but because [it is] hard”.
The possibilities are endless, and bounded only by the boys’ own motivation: whether it be showing leadership by running events, meeting others from different cultures, or participating in national competitions, everything our pupils undertake serves to broaden their minds and foster resilience and independence of thought. Such qualities resist easy measurement and can thus be overlooked in the drive for the highest possible examination results (although we believe these follow for those who engage most enthusiastically in Free Learning opportunities). At Dulwich we believe that imparting these skills is embedded in what we do every day; they are part of our DNA. We are proud of what we provide for our pupils and believe, with Einstein, that education is what remains after all that has been taught in the classroom has been forgotten.
D A P King Deputy Master Academic Dr Joe Spence Master of Dulwich College
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