Tag(s): Ages-Generations; Boys; Brain; Education; Girls; PERSONALITY; Parents; Relationships; School
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November 14, 2009 at 17:07:36     Permalink About Learning - the Second Stage of Womb to Tomb Diary Entry by Margaret Bassett (about the author)

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In those "dear old school days" the most that can be expected is that the boys and girls will get enough sleep and plenty to eat, because young sprouts live as though there is no tomorrow. Telling them to study so they can get good jobs--you draw a blank.

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In those "dear old school days" the most that can be expected is that the boys and girls will get enough sleep and plenty to eat, because young sprouts live as though there is no tomorrow. Telling them to study so they can get good jobs--you draw a blank.

We don't call them tweens for nothing. One minute they are reflecting on best qualities of those they know. The next they are proclaiming how their parents, their teachers, older siblings, are all out of touch. These are the Personality Kids.

To have a little sense of interpersonal relations is to have a certain conviction that others just don't get it. In truth, these kids are sorting their peers, family and community into niches to suit their current opinions of themselves. Even those too young to ponder the qualities of the opposite sex are not immune to discussing what "somebody" said about "somebody."

A big dose of patience is what parents can abide, knowing that having no learners' permit is a blessing. It's different for teachers who are paid to instruct and socialize the budding geniuses. In the realm of education, my personal belief is that we are wasting time and effort as long as school boards insist on replicating 20th Century modes. Modern teachers live with the notion that technology and diplomatic necessities have shrunk the globe. They may not be totally aware of the fact that what will instruct some young minds will roll right off others. That is to say, it is obligatory to teach as though each pupil has his/her own ability to learn. Only recently has much been studied about the brain and how it can only comprehend in accordance with its "wiring."

It is a fortunate young person who is blessed with attentive grandparents or other elders. Nothing makes persons closer than needing wheels. Learning from casual conversation in such relationships will be lifelong markers of development. It is close to elder abuse, in my opinion, when parents expect their parents to be mere chauffeurs of their offspring. Generational enrichment at this stage is probably as important as all the soccer meets, band concerts and summer vacations put together. The US suffers from a lack of individual histories when the generations are separated due to employment demands.

If a couple of words could be used for this group of people of school age, two might help to describe their stage: Enthusiasm and Vulnerability. Best to remember that it is not just a time for straight teeth and good manners. They came so moral that on some occasions, they seem downright stuffy. "Bad words" are a dividing point in social behavior. Just watch out! In a couple of years they will be testing their own high standards.

 

Margaret Bassett--OEN editor--is an 87-year old, currently living in senior housing, with a lifelong interest in political conumbra. Bachelors from State University of Iowa (1944) and Masters from Roosevelt University (1975) help to unravel (more...)
 

 

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