Seminar 7 - Nov. 16, 2009

I was very intrigued by the review article by Meltzoff, Kuhl, Movellan and Sejnowski (2009) about the 'New Science of Learning'. I have studied learning theory in many psychology courses although I admit that I never realized the complexities that learning entails. Also, I much appreciated the focus on differences that humans have versus other animals in the animal kingdom. Overall, I was very impressed and learned a significant amount of new information from the article.

In reflecting on the ideas presented in the article, I believe that I have a new appreciation for the amount of 'things that have to go right' in a child. In that, I mean that it is truly remarkable that a child can be born helpless and then over the course of just a couple of months learn and master so many different skills. I think we take for granted the magnitude of changes that occur in children during this critical time period. As described in the article, to this day we have yet to create a computer model that is even capable of speech. Computers today can perform calculations ad infinitum, yet they truly are not even close to the amazing developmental processes that the human body and mind achieve.

Today my niece, Rachel, came over to play with us. She is just about 10 months and it really is amazing watching her. The only word that I think truly epitomizes her attributes and mannerisms is that of a 'sponge'. A sponge in the sense that she just takes absolutely everything in. Watching her look at faces studying us as if we were so complicated. It seems that she is just learning and learning. As further described in the articles, the neuroplasticity that the brain has and the capacities of change are astonishing. Whenever I look at her, I see a little person that simply never stops learning. For me, the absolute worst scene to watch is her father or mother harshly scold one of her older siblings for doing something. The terror that she has in her eyes as she gazes directly at her father or mother is unbelievable. She can so easily understand that something very bad is happening and soon enough, the event may become 'normal' and she won't cry as much anymore. For me, I see this as a true shame. I would never want my young child to have to witness that. I guess there is a difficult balance that needs to be achieved to raise a child.

I firmly believe that the hardest thing that we as humans do in our lives is raising children. I am disconcerted that so few parents take the privilege of raising children seriously enough. I really believe that it is the duty of a parent to research and be up to date and give everything to their children. A sponge can only absorb as much as you allow it to; I can only hope that more parents will view their children as a gift that must be nurtured and held in the highest levels of importance in their lives. I think we have to further advocate and teach parents the importance of learning to their kids; perhaps this may spark a learning revolution?