40+FAB Blog

What has your learning experience been like throughout your life? I heard a memory expert say that one of the things that helps us to recall information we have learnt is the experience we had when we were learning. You are more likely to remember things from a lesson you enjoyed than from one you endured.

If you think as far back as your primary school, you will probably still remember your nursery rhymes. This is most likely because they were put in a song with some actions that the whole class enjoyed performing. I still remember the dread I had of going to school back then, this was because we got punished for not demonstrating we understood the lesson. The fear and anxiety created was very counter productive to a desire to learn. No wonder so many never voluntarily pursue any further forms of learning unless they are forced to.

I find myself now transferring that anxiety of learning to my children as I expect them to demonstrate that they understand what they are being taught or else… When I catch myself doing this, I have to stop and reset my approach for it is more important for them to associate learning as a positive experience than to get an answer right. I don’t want them to grow up and have apprehensions about learning because of they way they were made to feel about it. Taking into account that children do need to be pushed beyond thier normal whining to do anything, they can be nudged in a constructive way and not with threats to do what we say. Learning is a life long skill and training in the discipline of it is key to setting up our children for life.

How have your learning experiences been? What can you do now to reset your mindset about learning? How can you support your children in creating a positive learning environment? Spend some time and really think about these things.