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Productive Struggle

Loved this post by a math teacher on where and how AI can help students with learning math. Learned a new phrase - productive struggle. This seems to apply widely in other parts of life. Our desire to skip the process of productive struggle or cut corners around it can impact outcomes in both personal and professional lives. It got me thinking about the productive struggle to become a better parent for example. 

Doing it right takes patience, fortitude and discipline. Every day is different with your children, the way they respond to your efforts can be quite contrary to your expectations and their evolution into independence can leave you lost and confused. As a parent you feel like you are working with a moving target and the rules of the game change unpredictably. The temptation to bypass the productive struggle to overcome all of that with a focus on what truly matters to you as a parent, is very strong. 

The parent has a life outside parenting that can be overflowing with challenges as well - it is only natural for some of that stress to seep into their parenting. I have known a few parents who have gone through this productive struggle with their kids. The results are not what the world would grade as great or exceptional but at the human scale for that parent and the child concerned the outcomes are indeed remarkable. 

It also brings the question of what goals to direct the productive struggle to. The author cites an education professor on the science of it:

“Learning is not about turning on a light. Instead, it’s about constructing better and faster roads. Smart brains are efficient brains, and that efficiency comes through myelinating brain wires through repeated practice with specific feedback. Although it makes learning more difficult, it’s a difficulty that pays off in the long run.”

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