I recently picked up my copy of “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” I find that re-reading old classics often stimulates thought. My first thought this time was that the title said “… I Learned…” not “I was Taught.” (Note that the title is also an offhanded condemnation of the 12-16 years of increasingly structured formal education that follow kindergarten where we are “taught” everything we WILL need to know.)

Watch kids as they naturally learn. They play. They explore. They experiment. They ask questions. They experiment some more. Sometimes they fail and are frustrated. (Roger Schank makes a major point of the idea that failure is necessary to learning). Sometimes they are successful and applaud their own (and others) successes. Always they learn.

For those of you who would like to think a bit more children and learning – check out mamamedia, a neat learning site for children, inspired by Seymour Papert and Idit Harel. There is a section for grown-ups with a section on 21st century learning. I particularly like their focus on clickerati kids.

We are in the business of architecting learning for working professionals, but sometimes our learning comes in small packages. Watch the Kids!

John Stinson