Learning from People from the Future

Hello!
I am Hibi Usagi.

What do you think we should do to improve what we have now or to create better things in the future?

I believe one way is to "learn from people from the future."

When I say people from the future, I don't mean John Titor or Rei Kokubu, who appear in urban legends.

People from the future are actually very close to us!

Yes, they are children.

We are raising children who will live in the world of the future. I believe children are truly "people from the future."

Children sometimes tell us about things that don't exist yet or things they find inconvenient, as simple questions without any preconceived notions.

Why is it like this?
I wish there was something like this.

They throw these kinds of questions at us.

Today, I would like to think about this using one specific question as an example.

"I wish there was a test where your score wouldn't go down even if you made a mistake."

There was a child who said this.

It is easy to react by saying, "If you get a question right on a test, you get points, and if you get it wrong, you lose points—isn't that obvious?"

But wait a minute...

First, let's think about the effectiveness of tests.

Got a question wrong on a test
↓
Thought about why it was wrong
↓
Understood the reason for the mistake and how to find the correct answer

If one follows this process, it can be said that it leads to certain learning.

This is learning that would have been lost if they had just guessed the right answer on the first try.

If the purpose of a test is for children to acquire something or to be able to solve problems, then perhaps the things they got wrong might actually better serve that purpose.

Also, what about the psychological impact?

If high scores on tests and the ability to provide correct answers immediately are highly valued, while low scores and mistakes lead to being evaluated poorly or looked down upon, it may lead to:

・Coming to dislike studying
・Becoming afraid of tests
・Becoming afraid of failure and stopping taking on challenges
・Constantly seeking correct answers within a narrow scope, becoming timid, and avoiding learning methods, ideas, or inquiries that are "inefficient in terms of cost and time performance," such as free and expansive learning.

A "test where your score doesn't drop even if you make a mistake"

If this existed, depending on how it is utilized, it could become a revolutionary learning tool.

In my regular English lessons, I try to pick up and think about the casual questions, doubts, and murmurs that children express as much as possible.

This is for the children's sake, but above all, it is because it can be an incredibly valuable learning opportunity for me.

"Learning from people from the future"
This is one of the things I value.