Is there a difference between schooling and learning?

"Schooling" and "learning" are generally considered to be the same idea. Most people connect the two ideas because it is widely believed that learning happens at school. In their book, On being a teacher: The human dimension, Kottler, Zehm, & Kottler (2005) suggest that schooling and learning are very different. Schooling is strictly structured and requires students to conform to a set list of rules and a set curriculum for each class they attend (p. 25). Learning is a natural process that is self-motivated by the learner and includes the search for fresh ideas, new information, new challenges and meanings while gaining experiences (p. 25). Though schooling and learning are very different, they often happen at the same time and are indistinguishable. Reflections into the differences have led me to the following conclusions.

The ideas taught by schooling, such as following directions and being responsible and respectful citizens, are easily measured and assessed by simple observation of the students because schooling is an extrinsic process that is outwardly motivated by teacher praise or tangible rewards. If the students use their good manners or walk in line nicely, then they have successfully been schooled and usually are rewarded for their efforts. If the students choose not to follow the directions or walk nicely in a line, there usually is some sort of consequence. Most students learn quickly that following directions leads to a reward of some sort and they use or manipulate the rules to their advantage. Schooled lessons are turned on and off at will by students to achieve the desired outcomes which can change in an instant. What a student wants from one person (a sticker, a high-five, words of praise) may differ from what a student wants from another person (any attention, even negative).

Conversely, real learning is harder to measure and assess. Due to its intrinsically motivated nature, learning generally happens at different paces contingent on the subject matter and whether the learner is interested. Learning can not be turned on and off. The students are either learning or they are not. Once students start the learning process on a particular subject, they will continue to learn, regardless of their will, until all content is learned or a new idea piques their interest and diverts their attention. I have learned from experience and from listening to my students that they learn a multitude of things outside of school. Students I work with surprise me on a daily basis by demonstrating a skill or saying something that seems to come out of nowhere. I am sometimes shocked by these discoveries because, until I saw or heard it for myself, I would never have thought those students would have that knowledge at their age/grade level. These were ideas that caught the students’ attention and concepts they genuinely wanted to understand for themselves and no one else. Contrarily, I have known very intellectually capable students who were not motivated and interested so they did not apply themselves in certain subjects. As teachers, we plant the seeds of content, but real learning does not happen until the students open themselves to the new ideas and decide they are ready to learn something new. Once that happens, students will actively seek new information on the subject and find different ways to prove, disprove or share the new ideas. Students will remember the ideas and concept that they truly learned because they had to put themselves into that content and be motivated to stick with the lessons. I have noticed in my experiences that students are most proud of things they did for themselves and most interested in ideas when they had a choice.

Though there are many correlations between schooling and learning, the two are exceptionally different. Take time to reflect on the relationship, if any, between schooling and learning and respond with your thoughts and opinions.