By: Megan Prats

5/1/2015

As Pomp and Circumstance fills the auditorium, students and their families are elated because the student has completed her learning journey. Because the student has received X number of credits in certain subjects required by the school, learning is now “over”. WRONG!!!!!

Ugh, it makes me sick how people stuff the infinite realm of knowledge into a box and celebrate false accomplishments within it. Well, because you are an innovative and high-quality 2learn® teacher, you thankfully are working at a place that not only understands the true nature of learning, but allows the infinite realm of knowledge to assume its natural space – infinity. Thus, it is no surprise that 2learn® ́s revolutionary approach to learning has led it to come to the conclusion that graduation does not exist.

2learn® has allowed no graduation to appear within its system by not providing students an end- date for their learning. Instead, students can take as many lessons that they’d like and continue to grow in their learning for as long as they desire. Because of 2learn®’s critical thinking approach, students are exposed to unexplored areas of their learning because the 2learn® Method promotes the student to navigate areas of her discipline that close mindedness has forbidden her to discover. Because there is never no more that you can learn, the student always has room to grow here.

The no graduation concept should also be promoted by you in your 2learn® lessons. A great way to do this is to counter a student’s or parent’s assumption that the student has no more to learn by explaining to the student that learning never ends. Tell the student, and/or her parent, that even you, the teacher, who has much more experience in the discipline, continues to learn new things every day. Then, if the student is familiar with a “master” in her discipline (i.e. a professional musician), point out to the student that this individual continues to learn more and more even though she is at the height of her career and has decades of experience under her belt. For instance, I told my student that Terry Bozzio, a professional drummer, was studying latin drumming and was struggling with implementing it because he was engaged in a new area of his learning. Terry Bozzio, even after decades and countless hours behind the drum set, has more to learn about the drum set. If the master is still the student, well then the student must still be the student.

Another way to promote no graduation during the lessons would be to uncover more and more areas of the student’s learning as you go through the lessons. First, even advanced students who have a nice grasp on the discipline’s substance always have more substance that they can learn. Normally, this takes place when you delve in more detail to the substance. However, because all things within the discipline – cosmic and microscopic – constitute learning and growth, then microscopic focus is worth the student’s time and money. Second, all students need more critical thinking development. Because the 2learn® Method is in its infancy and has yet to touch the masses, the fact that the student hasn’t been exposed to the 2learn® Method’s way of thinking is reason enough to promote more learning via critical thinking development. Also, even for those students who are natural critical thinkers and perform the elements of critical thinking fairly well, there is always more that those students can do to more comprehensively and effectively solve problems. Even I, the founder of 2learn® and the author of the 2learn® Method thus far, have a ways to go in my understanding and ability to execute the 2learn® Method in my every-day problem-solving. In short, solving problems with one’s critical thinking skills is such a beast in itself that the student can spend from now until the end of the universe with just that and not see the end of it.

2learn® is different than the rest because it was born outside of the broken and mind numbing education system of today. 2learn® looks at learning as an art that you cannot put in a box and say, “that’s it.” Instead, learning is an eternal journey for all. Thus, graduation does not exist
here. No Pomp and Circumstance and funny hats at 2learn®. Instead, 2learn® promotes a culture and a philosophy that the journey of learning is forever!

© Megan Prats 2015