Chapter 4: How Children Learn (a)

“Although a great deal of children’s learning is self-motivated and self-directed, other people play major roles as guides in fostering the development of learning in children.”

I agree. Learning is a community effort. Working together with parents and establishing open communication with parents are essential aspects in education. More so, parents are not the only guides in fostering children’s learning. Caretakers and coaches, as chapter four mentions, are guides to fostering the development of children’s learning.

My parents were my first teachers. In fact, they are still my teachers. Without their guidance, I would not be the parent I am to my daughter and son. Every time I discipline or teach my kids something, I always think of my parents and say to myself, “So this is what mom and dad went through while raising me and my siblings.” In regards to my students, I always try to establish open communication with them and their parents. I encourage parent participation. I have noticed that my students are proud of their work when their parents have taken part in it.

“Together Everyone Achieves More”. This TEAM concept is what coaches, at least the ones I have seen and met, try to instill in their students. Many students will excel even more in a sport because the athlete looks to the coach as a role model. (Many of us may have become teachers because we were influenced by a teacher we have had in our formative years.) Club advisors are important as well. I will never forget my high school Student Council advisor. He is the reason why I am able to conduct or facilitate meetings with my colleagues without feeling nervous or intimidated. Robert’s Rules of Order was a book I had to read, not because I wanted to but because he required it. At first, I felt, “Gosh, another book to add to my senior pile of books to read.” Now, I realize why he stressed the importance of the book.

Other important tools, as mentioned in chapter four, such as cultural artifacts, television, books, videos, and technological devices can serve as guides. I only agree with this statement to an extent. We, the classroom teachers, need to channel these technological tools in the right direction. And yes, these tools are powerful guides. Nowadays, texting and mySpace.com have become such powerful forms of communication amongst teens that they are forgetting how to write and communicate properly.

As a graduate student, these courses in technology have become a positive guide for me. I am learning how to integrate technology into my lessons which will only benefit my students and their future where technology will be even more prevalent.