Jiu-jitsu and the One Room Schoolhouse.

In his book “The One World School House, Education Reimagined” Salman Khan makes the case (among the many other compelling arguments he makes for educational reform) for the ‘One Room Schoolhouse’. This refers to the seemingly out-dated model of the big red schoolhouse, as one might see on a farm. Children of different ages are placed together in the same class. Modern approaches to this can be seen in the Montessori method, which does the same with some stratification. Our traditional model of age group cohorts is so ingrained in the educational system that many take it as self-evident.

“To state what should be obvious, there is nothing natural about segregating kids by age. That isn’t how families work; it isn’t what the world looks like; and it runs counter to the way that kids have learned and socialized for most of human history. Even the Mickey Mouse club included kids of different ages, . . . The older ones take responsibility for the younger ones. (. . .) The younger ones look up to and emulate the older ones.” (p.192-193)

This approach relies on other assumptions espoused by Khan; That the traditional model of ‘receptive’ learning, where students are passive recipients of broadcast type lectures should be replaced by active learning where students are encouraged to engage with their learning. In this view there is not set path where groups of students are moved along all at the same pace (in theory anyway), but rather students learn at their own pace and review or advance at their own speed.

This approach is analogous to what happens in a jiu-jitsu class. Students of different levels are grouped together, and while there may be an instructor, everyone is at the same time a teacher and a student. While learning and practicing new techniques, students simultaneously learn and teach, helping their partners hone their skills by providing feedback and advice. It is an approach that is more relevant when one considers how different body types (read different learning styles) lend themselves to certain approaches. The tall skinny guy shows the other tall skinny guys what works for him, while the nimble smaller ones brainstorm on how to beat their larger classmates.

Ownership of the learning process is the common denominator between the ‘One Room Schoolhouse’ and the ‘One Mat Jiu-jitsu academy’. Students need to engage with their learning; the one size fits all approach bores those ahead of the pack and leaves behind those who learn at a slower pace. The best approach as always, has been to learn by doing, whether on the mat, or in the classroom.

Salman Khan: Before founding his Khan academy www.khanacedmy.org , he was a hedge fund analyst. He’s also worked in venture capital and engineering at Oracle and several Silicon Valley start-ups. Khan hold an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was president of his class, and three degree from MIT.

‘The One World School House Education Reimagined. Salman Khan’ Hodder & Stoughton. 2012.

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