How Do Children Learn

 

Our children watch the way we interact with other people and then they copy that behavior. It should not come as a surprise if, at some point and time, we hear our words repeated from their lips. If we cannot control ourselves then how can we control and be a positive influence in the lives of our children. Many of us have a "do as I say do and not as I do" attitude. But is this a realistic expectation? The mixed signals will chip away at your credibility with the child because they see the contradiction. There was a time when adults felt the need to discuss sensitive issues and would ask the children to leave the room. Today, this may not always be the case. In fact, parents may find themselves having to explain the behavior of others. How often do we forget to say the simple words "I'm sorry"? It is not uncommon these days to be scoffed at for doing so. Even though, this may not be happening in your home, here is just a short list of bad manners and behavior we expose our children to either at home, from peers, or from environmental influences. Rudeness * Bumping into others without saying excuse me. * Accepting courtesies from others without saying thankyou Abuse and Aggressive Behavior * Parents abusing each other verbally or physically * Verbal or threatening physical abuse to a teacher that gives negative feedback about your child * Bullying and terrorizing people to get what you want. Defense and Indifference to Inappropriate Behavior * Making statements like "I'm grown I do what I want to do". * Laughing at cruelty to others and pets. * Bad work habits like constant lateness or absenteeism. * Lying to get out of difficult situations or for personal gain. * Stealing in front of the child. Bad Judgement * Engaging in intimacy in front of kids. * Lacking stability in relationships with members of the opposite sex. * Coming home drunk. * Smoking Marijuana or taking other illegal drugs in the presence of children * Using the B word to refer to women * Confrontations with the police Children's Peers Parents are not the only source of a child's bad behavior. A child's peers also have a great influence over what they internalize. If a child wants to be accepted by peers, they may do whatever is necessary to become a part of the group. The Media Our media can play a role in influencing our children's thought processes through the images and messages it sends to a young and impressionable world. Some underestimate the role of television, movies, and music on young minds. However, I beg to differ. In our times we have seen movies with children using cuss words that would even make a sailor blush. Living in a society where we frequently debate issues like freedom of speech: Would it not be wise to exercise this right with prudence and temperance for the sake of our children. Conclusion Parents have the ability to become heroes in the eyes of their children. By building trust and respect, you can become the person whose character fills the chalice from which they drink. There are many questions that the educational system should answer. For instance, if situations and conditions are constantly in flux, have the teaching methods and approaches changed to adapt to the new conditions? Are there obsolete and inaccurate things still being taught in schools? What is being done about this?? Our educational system is today based on the industrial way of processing material. Linearly there is a problem. Material is cut in a sequence but, when you come to the IT industry, information is still over the place. Kids are much better informed than adults at using computer games and, to make them learn, a teacher needs to understand how their minds work. The role of the teacher is no more to teach; he has become a coach to help kids do things better.? The situation is such that there is no point in having glamorous programs. We need to go back to basics. Knowledge is no more power. The skill to identify information that is relevant is more important. For instance, the learning deficiency; when the body is not functioning properly, it needs nutrients; so likewise, if you have enough in school isn't tuition a sign of deficiency? There are a number of issues that we should look at. For instance, if teaching is not fun, it won't work and if you don't like what you do it won't work. To teach kids, open their eyes, lead them by the hands and touch their hearts. The learning approach is finding the ability, capacity, and potential of the kids. From there you develop the processes you need to go through and adopt a system that will bring learning. As a trainer, our job is to design a system so simple that all people can learn. We need to ask ourselves whether there are things in the school that is being taught now, which are obsolete and inaccurate. Let's consider which part of the question is the Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) for instance. Which part of the question is Multiple Choice? None of it, yet the system is so taken for granted that you are not allowed to challenge it. Why can't we say:?Pick the right answer?? Possibly the economy is changing so rapidly that knowledge and skills get obsolete equally rapidly. The Internet has brought a real revolution as a source of information. We need to constantly check that our information is relevant. Mauritius is facing a serious language problem, particularly the use of the English language. People here in Mauritius are mostly using Creole and French. The kids spend time watching cartoons on the television in French. The only time they are exposed to English is at school and only for a few minutes. Deficiency is not in the intelligence of the kids but in the command of the language. The ability and command of the language are diminishing and teachers tend to translate into other languages, including vernacular, for the kids to understand. Translation means losing time and getting second-hand information directly, he is ahead of time. If one wants to improve competency in the use of the English language, then children have to be exposed as much as possible to that language. Otherwise, the results can be catastrophic. Without any doubt, the kids of Mauritius are as brilliant as kids from Asia, Indonesia, Europe, and Australia. The issue here is not whether we like English, but the language is a commercial language that is used to communicate around the world. That is why it's important to give a boost to that language. However, things should change at all levels in order to opt for a different system from the parents. We have to start with the parents. The world is called a global village, an environment where we should be able to know each other better. If the parents refuse to change, kids won't. The home environment is important and education cannot be surrendered to the teacher only; it is a global effort that everyone should contribute. Parents should be examples of what they want their kids to be. Get the children to learn the correct value first. Let them think clearly before bringing them to be creative. First, they should think clearly to get the right sense of direction, and then look for creativity. Is underlined here,?the designing of a program for which learning is based on the yardstick of the learner?. Children should use all their senses. Just like advertisements which children are fond of, try to be short, fun, and compact. Teaching is not a science, but teaching is an art. Rather the content is science. Lessons To Teach Children Can you see if a baby is trying to walk for the first time? Not many babies walk perfectly the first time. It is a time when they learn to stand and wobble and then fall down. It is a time for many tears. If it is indoors often the child cries because they are frightened rather than having hurt themselves. The child will cry for a time but soon determination will cause them to try again and again until they walk. But there is another side to this story. Normally within twenty seconds of the child falling over an adult will have to reach out to get them and try and comfort the child. That is great the child needs to be reassured of what happened, to show that it was ok to try to walk and fall. But often the adult changes the rules because not only will they try and reassure the child but they will look for something to give them to eat or drink, a cookie or a bottle of milk. Now what lessons have this young child learned during this short time that they cried? *Anytime you have a problem or fall then you stop the emotions with food. *It isn't OK to cry. A piece of food is to replace the feelings quickly. *Look for the emotions found in food than in the pain felt for even a short time. *Always eat your emotions never show them. If no food had been given then the child would have been comforted by the hug from the adult. The pain would have eased very shortly and the crying still stopped. But already the child is being taught how to eat their feelings. And even worse if they were given a cookie then they have been given a taste for sugar and the cravings that come with that. What we are taught as children about food normally is what we pass on to our children. Why because it is all we know unless we have had lessons in food and nutrition. We need to stop and think about what we do and why we do what we do with food. Do we use it to bribe our children? Do we use it to comfort our children? Do we use it to encourage our children to hide their feelings? Learn about what you do and break the cycle making sure that your child never eats their feelings.