Bonsai Trees, Wildflowers and Personalized Learning

Bonsai Trees, Wildflowers and Personalized Learning

To many people in the gardening and plant world, bonsais are among the most impressive trees.  Bonsai is seen as a blend of gardening and art--a way to create living sculptures.  A gardener might spend decades pruning the tree, little by little, year over year, so that it grows to the gardener’s exact vision.  For example, A Coast Redwood tree that, in the wild might grow to 100’-200’, may only grow to 1’ under the curated care of the gardener over many decades. 

Recently I was listening to a podcast, where Julie Lythcott-Haims (author of best selling books on helping young people become healthy and happy adults, and former Dean of Freshmen and Undergraduate Advising at Stanford University) applied the concept of bonsai trees to the way parents raise their children.  She shared:

“We treat our kids like they are our bonsai trees… The bonsai is such an exquisite creation of the gardener.  The gardener decides the direction in which that tree will grow, which branches will be clipped and which will flourish, and the shape of it. And, it is a lovely creation, but at the end of the day it is a possession of the gardener.”   

-       Julie Lythcott-Haims

She was speaking about parenting, and the approach that some parents take—one that is similar to gardeners who design bonsai trees.  That parents who take this approach curate and direct the major decisions and milestones that students reach.  She talked about how oftentimes, children who are raised by these types of parents, once they reach some scenarios in high school, or transition to college, or to their first job or career are unable to function on their own because they are too dependent on following the direction, the prompting of their parents. 

(Photo Source:  Bonsai Mirai)

She later goes on to suggest that thinking of children as wildflowers is more conducive to healthy growth, development, and long term success.  Wildflowers are resilient.  They adapt to the conditions presented to them.  They need soil, water and sunlight, but are hearty enough to thrive with little support from their environment.

After hearing her words, I thought about how this idea--of raising children as bonsai trees or wildflowers, applies to the context of the classroom, and the student and teacher experience.  Whereas a “bonsai” classroom is teacher-centered and largely teacher-directed, a “wildflower” classroom is student centered and largely student-directed.  That is, students have opportunities to have agency over what, how and why they learn.  Bonsai classrooms might be effective at helping students to master standards, or to be exposed to certain books and content; but it might sacrifice opportunities to help students to think for themselves, make decisions about their learning and develop their own perspectives.

As educators, we must take time to reflect and consider our beliefs and approaches to teaching and learning.  We must ask ourselves:   As an educator or educational leader, am I mindful of the extent to which I am choosing and deciding for students?  Do I reflect on the impact that my  decisions have on students’ development and long term success?  Is my classroom or school experience something that is done to students?  Or is learning something that is done with and for students?

To help you reflect on these questions, consider using the Core 4 of Personalized Learning.  The Core 4 are research based best practices that power teaching and learning in student-centered, personalized classrooms.  At Education Elements, we believe that student-centered classrooms balance student voice and choice, alongside the expertise and care of teachers, so that students do not grow up to be perfectly curated and uniform bonsai trees, but healthy, thriving individuals who are ready to go weather the conditions of and thrive in the wild.   

The Core 4 of Personalized Learning include:

●      Student Reflection and Goal Setting - Student reflection and goal setting are practices that can build a bridge for students between the content they are learning and why they are learning it. While these are two separate practices, they can, and should be interconnected in the classroom. Reflecting on what we know and how we learn builds self-awareness that can make goal-setting a truly meaningful experience.

●      Collaboration and Creativity - Personalizing learning encourages students to work with one another, share ideas, create new solutions and projects, provide one another with feedback, and, in the process, learn more about themselves. 

●      Flexible Path and Pace - Students learn in different ways and to truly personalize the learning experience, there must be opportunities for students to progress towards mastery of their learning through flexible learning pathways and at different paces. 

●      Targeted Instruction - At its most actualized, targeted instruction means that students can articulate what instruction they are receiving and why, and students have some choice over the instruction they receive.

If you are interested in diving deeper, join us for a four-part virtual series to learn more about the Core 4, Personalized Learning and what it can look like to lead, implement or grow the approach in your district or school.