Technolandy

Day 8 (of SOL 2025) Summer of Learning… Dear Dr Kennedy @chrkennedy Joy

In his annual year end blog, Chris had some good questions… here is question 

8. What is the role of joy in academic achievement?

1. If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life – if you love what you learn, the struggle is fun.

Joy is about enhancing motivation… engagement… and cognitive function.

Maybe we need to really dig deeper into the idea that maybe we need schools where students graduate with even more curiosity about learning than they did when they entered kindergarten… more passionate learning and mayaps less prescriptive learning journeys? Maybe there is a difference between the “educated citizen” in BC Education and the “joyfully educated citizen” that we should maybe aim for as AI & screens & robotics may make more ‘careers’ more like hobbies and artisan and nichely ‘wanted’ rather than… needed.

It’s amazing the rigor and perseverance that appears when people pursue passions… hours fly by and deep metaphorical dives are taken! I still recall a high school math teachers plea of “just have them coming to me not hating math…” that otherside of “joy” is another topic to take on – can people authentically learn that which there is no connection and a hatred of … and yes, even if that’s reading…? (For pleasure – basic literacy remains essential – for now at least)