Learning as a landscape not a racetrack.   

Recently I was reading an educational blog. It talked about learning as a landscape not a racetrack. In this model of understanding education it compared two metaphors; one a racetrack, where every child is placed at the same start point at the beginning of the year and races to the same end point at the end of the year, where educators are seen as race officials trying to keep everyone on the same track and assessing when they reach the finish line or alternatively, a landscape, where educators recognise that each learner brings their own landscape to learning with their own interests, challenges and strengths. In the landscape model we understand that children are going to arrive at the peaks of learning in their own time and via a variety of pathways. As we prepare to finish the school year and reflect on the progress our students have made I have listened to our teachers speak of the learning journey your students have been on, how our educators have been guiding them through their landscapes and assisting them to reach their peaks.