Just for a change, let us talk about eggcorns. Now that may not be a familiar concept to many readers, nor would it necessarily be of much concern to them. Let us learn, then! ‘Eggcorns’ is a term given to a word or phrase that results from a mishearing or misinterpretation of another word or phrase but which still makes sense. An example is people often write “tow the line” instead of “toe the line” while another is someone saying, “pass mustard” instead of “pass muster”. One teacher came across a pupil describing someone saying he had difficulty in “making hen’s meat” when in truth he was wanting to say, “making ends meet”. Someone else once wrote “scandally clad” instead of “scantily clad” (though the two could mean the same!) while another described someone else as “pre-Madonna” instead of “prima donna” (again, it could work!).
In another sphere, though not so easily discerned, is the expression that people use, saying “L for leather” instead of “Hell-for-leather” which was an expression that originated in the late 19th century, perhaps referring to someone riding so hard and fast on a horse, carelessly, recklessly, with great abandon, that the leather saddle took enormous strain and pressure (“hell”). Of course, Leather does start with the letter L so in that regard L does stand for Leather.
However, when we get off our high horse and pause to consider education, and do not ride into it “hell for leather”, we may realise that education is often misunderstood or misinterpreted. Of course, in modern jargon, people love to declare that L stands for Loser while anyone who struggles with academics is deemed to be a “loser”, but the fact is that L does not simply start with or stand for Leather but more importantly L stands for Learning. At last, in the twenty-first century we are beginning to understand that school is less about teaching and more about learning. L for Learning.
UNESCO have propounded the four Pillars of Education as being the need for children to Learn to know, Learn to Do, Learn to Live Together and Learn to Be, but let us take it further. Children are at school to learn to learn. They are not there to learn how to pass exams or to gain places at university. They are not at school to rote learn, to memorise facts, to cram revision, to regurgitate all that teachers have told them in the latter’s desperate attempt to maintain their pass rates. They are there to learn how to apply critical thinking for themselves (which they were born with but have had snuffed out of them), their creativity, communication, collaboration and character. Learn to learn.
Let us take it further still. L is for Learning and in many Ls. They are to learn to live, fully, faithfully, fruitfully, fearfully, making the most of their talents and their opportunities. We must let them, and enable them, to live lives that are extraordinary, powerful, hopeful. They are born to live life fully, joyfully, meaningfully. They must learn to live with values and principles, not vices and programmes. They need to learn humility, empathy, availability, respect, trust, along with integrity, patience, perseverance, resilience and more – no prima donna. The point of education is to learn to live well.
Then we should remember that children are to learn to laugh and to love – something that adults all too often seem to forget. We learn to laugh at adversity and perversity without needing to go to university. Children need to learn to love, as we live in, and depend on, community. To do that, children need to learn to listen, carefully, completely, openly, and to look, widely, unblinkered, sensitively, deeply. To do that, they must learn to linger, longer, not rush into battle (L for leather), so that they can explore and wonder and ponder.
Then, when they have achieved all that, they need to learn to leave, to leave the past behind and move forward, to leave their comfort zones and press ahead, to leave their failures and successes as having been valuable lessons to learn new lessons and serve greater ends.
We need to unlearn what we have been taught to learn and relearn the purpose of education. We must not career carelessly, recklessly onwards, hell for leather, with newfound curricula and toeing the line. Let us help children learn to learn, that L is for learning. If we do not, our children will find that L stands for Lemmings, blindly running over a cliff thoughtlessly, riding their way to hell. They will be the ones “scandally clad” when they go out into the world. Learners, not losers.