When the days cool and the leaves start to fall, my bones tell me it is time to go back to school. Personally, I spent 26 years in school every fall, from age 5 to 31. I took a break when my babies were little, but now we are up for another 15 years of returning to school when September rolls around.
As I have gotten older, the way “school” happens has changed for me. Now I read list serves, books, and research articles; attend webinars, trainings, and conferences; but I don’t go “back to school” the way I used to. I just signed up for two cooking classes through our local rec and ed department, but I miss the idea of possibilities opening up with a brand-new school year.
Unlike me, my children haven’t been as good schoolers in the traditional sense. The traditional schooling model- go to class, sit, and listen to an authoritative adult- isn’t for everyone. Actually, research shows this is not the best way to help most people learn.
This leads me to ask: how does learning happen? What is learning? I think about this a lot. I have come to believe it is about changing our brains by introducing and incorporating new information or ideas into our personal database. This, hopefully, will then lead to changes in our behaviors or, perhaps even harder, our belief systems. The odds of brain changes happening from just listening to someone else tell you something are low. To drive effective brain change, which may then lead to behavior changes and, if we are very lucky, belief changes, you have to do more. You have to involve the learner in the learning process. You have to have them do something. Discuss an idea through writing or group discussion. Better yet, work with a parent/baby couple, and see the positive change you can help them achieve in their life.
I was listening to a podcast; I don’t remember which, but they were talking about young children and schooling. It hit me so strongly that someone is also unlikely to “learn” if they don’t feel cared for, safe, and well-rested. If you are hungry, it is hard to learn. If you don’t feel the teacher cares about you, you are unlikely to learn. No wonder low-income children, and, frankly, adults, have a hard time learning. They really have bigger fish to fry than learning math or how to read. Learning can be low on the priority list. Unless… unless you help them see that learning will ultimately help them address their safety and hunger problems. This is tricky business.
This brings me back to the teaching and communication style I use with clients and my students. Motivational Interviewing (MI) helps me decide how to approach working with someone. It is student/client centered. It lets me learn enough about each person to help them discover what matters to them. That’s when something exciting can happen.
I am committed to offering lactation education differently. Book groups, participatory presentations, FREE Live Study Discussion Groups, FREE book groups, and highly interactive communication trainings. Keep an eye out for our offerings.
William Yeats said, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” Let’s all light some fires this fall! To keep our bodies warm and our minds burning brightly.