99% of school work lacks complexity.

I was a teacher, I know.

We purposefully reduce the complexity of worksheets, tests, and assignments to something that is manageable.

Aka grade-able.

Similarly, 99% of school is predictable

We create schedules, procedures, and routines so kids know what’s next.

They know that on Wednesdays they have Science homework, and on Fridays they have Spelling tests—multiple choice, 4 answers to choose from, only 1 is correct

*yawn*

There are two big problems with this:

1. As soon as things become straightforward and predictable, they become boring

2. The real world is complex and unpredictable, much unlike school

Change and chaos are two of life’s very few constants.

We do kids a disservice by shielding them from complexity and making things predictable.

I saw this in my classroom: my kids were turned off by curriculum assignments that lacked complexity and that element of surprise.

And the moment things didn’t go according to the schedule: chaos.

I’ll never forget the day I didn’t tell them about the fire drill in advance.

The alarm went off, and my kids lost it.

When will we finish the test?
Don’t we have Music class now?
ARE WE GOING TO MISS RECESS?

Unexpected changes are *particularly* overwhelming for kids who are not used to them.

If we want kids to get comfortable with uncertainty, we need to constantly switch things up.

If we want kids to persist in the face of a challenge, we need to expose them to complexity often.

And here’s the most interesting part:

While at first they may feel confused and overwhelmed (remember, we’ve trained them to do the opposite) kids soon get the hang of it and start to enjoy the ride.

You’ll notice that not only can kids handle complexity, they *crave* it.

And when you consistently inject an element of surprise into the learning process, suddenly the fear of *not knowing what’s next* becomes a source of excitement and engagement.

I saw this when I was a teacher, and I saw it last week at @synthesischool

Referring to the program, which is based on collaborative, complex games, one of the kids shared:

“My favorite thing is that we never know what to expect. Even when we think we know, we don't. They always change the rules and maps. We have to figure it out. That’s why it’s fun."

These are the kind of learning experiences that help kids develop the instincts, cognitive tools, and collaboration skills to deal with complexity in the real world.

If you know of other innovative learning programs out there, hit me up!