Throughout almost every episode George is faced with a problem or a project and he has to find a solution whether the problem/project is purposeful or accidental. He runs into many obstacles along the way, some detrimental to the cleanliness of himself, the apartment, or sometimes the city streets. He finds himself getting frustrated at times, but he always perseveres and solves the problem by the end of the episode. As an educator I watch these episodes and see the relevance they have on the world of education and I simply ask that others see this too. I have listed out what I have noticed about education in the episodes I have watched.First, all kids can learn. George is a monkey and he is able to solve complex problems...yeah I know he is only fictional and much of the stuff in the show may not be possible by a monkey, but can you imagine giving students the freedom to explore like George and see what they can do. It seems pretty ridiculous, but there are still plenty of teachers out there who believe only certain kids can learn. That is frustrating, annoying, and those teachers don't see potential. George has proven to me that no matter the circumstance and no matter the individual learning can be done when given the freedom to explore.
Second, failure is not an option (but let me define failure). Failure to me is giving up completely without effort to complete a project or solve a problem. Don't get me wrong sometimes it is ok to just drop things and move on based on purpose, but one thing I notice about George is he tries, and tries, and tries. Purpose is everything. George always sees a purpose in what he is doing, which drives him to a finished product. The problem is he only has 20 minutes of air time so who knows if that product is ever really finished. We need to let kids mess up and fix those mistakes, constantly. I have never seen George so frustrated that he throws his hands up and walks off screen.
Third, feedback is key to development. Feedback traditionally comes from someone else, but in many cases it can come from self assessment. This happens all the time with George. He stands back assesses his work, tries it out, and tweaks the design until it is just right. He is giving himself feedback constantly. In some cases the Man in the Yellow Hat gives feedback, but I have noticed it is more encouragement than anything (which is still feedback, but it's never constructive criticism). Every once in awhile George takes on a project with one of his friends and they are able give each other feedback which is always beneficial.
Fourth, sometimes the greatest solutions are actually just accidents. I think it's funny how some of the greatest inventions are accidents. George does this a lot, where he notices something just by chance and it ends up contributing to the solution. We need to let students explore, make mistakes, and be curious, because who knows maybe that "mistake" can lead to a greater solution, and the crazy part...many times it does.
Fifth, curiosity is amazing. That's it, curiosity is amazing. When we allow kids to be curious they can do amazing things. Purpose driven curiosity is a great thing and we need to open this up in our classrooms and schools.
