How People Learn: Part 1

Human Beings crave learning, and have developed such a vast amount of information and communication that we are often reeling from it all. Why do we want this? Apparently, we have a uniquely human, and unlimited, desire to know and control our environment in order to enhance our lives. Is that a good thing? The desire alone does not imply good or bad, but, it does seem as though, for every innovation that is positive, there is a negative Application that becomes immediately available. We tend to have a dark side that we try to keep in the secret places in our hearts or, at least, in our homes, but it increasingly reveals itself as our information and communication increases.

The past few decades we have seen some very interesting theories on human Development and brain research. The two go hand-in-hand. What we seem to be finding though, is that the brain develops as a result of our interaction with the environment. The lines between heredity and environmental influences on behavior and learning are blurring. But that is only true if the playing field is even.

Application Development

When comparing all people to the conventional middle class lifestyle and Development/learning opportunities, there is a great deal of disparity in the United States today. It would seem that cultural minorities, those in poverty, and the uneducated, would be at a distinct disadvantage in terms of learning and Development. As long as they have some basic necessities, such as a place to live, some food and caring adults, the disadvantage is not necessarily going to affect learning and Development, but rather, "fitting in" and succeeding. The trouble is that, when faced with numerous disadvantages, adults can become unstable due to the lack of success and the hardships that result. Their children do not receive the basic assets necessary for their own stable development. It becomes a cycle of despair and failure. But, this cycle can present itself in middle class families as well, through alcoholism, criminal behavior, etc. Human nature is resilient, and can overcome many obstacles, so it is unfair to stereotype a certain "class" as not developing as human beings. Middle class advantage does not equal developmentally stronger, more capable of learning, or more highly evolved.

In our society, our education system values the college education, and is geared to that end. We are beginning to realize that this model does not meet the needs of all students. We used to think it was holding a student back to suggest that they go to a trade school, so the option was not part of the public school. That view is changing as we rethink the ideas of success and self-actualization. The Forty Developmental Asset Model (Search Institute) is becoming more prevalent in schools, cities and community organizations. It illustrates how we all need to have as many of the basic assets met (like a caring relationship, safe place to live, education, neighborhood, health, hope, etc.) as possible to be well adjusted and successful. A variety of options in education format can be important in this regard as it acknowledges different learning styles.

How People Learn: Part 1