“Tell me and I forget.
Teach me and I may remember.
Involve me and I learn.”
The above quote has been attributed to a number of people; from Benjamin Franklin, to Xun Kuang (a Chinese Confucian philosopher who lived from 312-230 BC), the point is- whoever said it captured the essence of how children learn. We human beings are wired to learn from birth, and that is one of the reasons our species has not just survived, but evolved and thrived.
And that is our philosophy at Tinker Lab – to involve children in their own learning- we trust them to chart the course and to choose the tools that aid them. The adult caregivers at Tinker Lab observe, take notes, and create an intellectually and emotionally enriching environment suitable for every child, and are available to scaffold the child when required.
About Tinker Lab
Tinker Lab began as a pandemic learning pod, when extended lockdowns forced schools to shut down. We opened our home for early learners as a space where they could come, explore, play, and learn at their own pace.
We are deeply inspired by the ‘Self-directed Learning’ and ‘True Play’ philosophies which are gaining momentum worldwide. In our experiences with children- when we, their adult caregivers and teachers, trust them to map their own learning outcomes, rather than focussing on a set curriculum or getting them school ready (aka academics as early as possible!), we raise them to be lifelong learners.
A large part of our learning philosophy also centres on self-regulation. In everyday terms, this means being able to regulate our emotions when triggered or when in a stressful situation. Consequently, problem solving, conflict management, building social skills and accepting each child holistically – with the entire gamut of their emotions and validating these emotions without labelling them ‘good’ or ‘bad’ - is an important part of our philosophy.
If you would like to know more about Tinker Lab and how we do things, and if you would like to understand whether this is in tandem with your own parenting philosophy, here is a link to the FAQs. After all, we do not just enrol the child, we enrol the whole family!
Our focus is not on making our children school ready.
Our focus is on getting them life ready!
‘Since we can’t know what knowledge will be needed in the future, it is senseless to try and teach it in advance. Instead, we should try to turn out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned.’
– John Holt
