One parent’s thoughts on educational neuroscience and the effects of the current local educational approaches on children.

Educational neuroscience – these words are music to my ears! I am not a neuroscientist but I am an observant parent. And I have been observing my children who are currently 13 and 10 years of age throughout their school experience in Malta very closely. And the feeling that dominates right now is frustration and my children are frustrated too.

Neuroscience gives us scientific evidence of how the information is received and assimilated by the brain. And it tells us that it is a process which needs time and reinforcement in order for the neuron paths to build. My kids go through one to two new topics per subject every week. No time is given to the delivered teachings to sink in, for the necessary connections in the brain to be built and there is definitely not enough repetition as the new topic is introduced soon after. It is often, not always though, not connected to the previous knowledge but requires construction of completely fresh neuron paths. This goes on incessantly from the age of 5. It is then topped up by exams that commence at the age of 7. It is worth noting that at that age, cognitive abilities of each child may vary significantly and what is accessible to one, can be completely out of reach for the other. Reading this – how do you feel?

The children in this system barely have time to be children. They have long school hours and then homework, the stress of the exams and constant pressure to keep up. If you talk to some parents, I am sure this common theme will emerge – our children are feeling insecure, frustrated, overwhelmed, angry, exhausted – all at the tender age of 7, and sometimes even earlier. Some get panic attacks before the tests and exams.

Sadly, those children grow into young adults, who find that approach of stiff competition throughout college and university. They grow up feeling unsupported and constantly anxious. This spills over to many other areas of their lives.

Now think for a minute as a parent and a competent adult – what do you really want for your children? And what really mattered in your adult professional and personal lives? Was it the academic knowledge?

I want for my children to have a childhood of running free and wild – a tall order in Maltese reality. But I also want them to willingly want to learn, to feel eager and excited about acquiring new knowledge. I want them to learn how to do everything to the best of their abilities. I want them to feel valued just for who they are and not for what they can achieve. I want them to learn skills for life so that they are able to organise themselves, to be independent, competent, resilient, able to cope with whatever comes their way. None of these skills are taught through academics. But our children are shaped by their academic environment.

This is not to say that parents, family and other influences cannot help with development of well-rounded individuals. But I am well aware of the time my children spend at school and of how they are influenced by every teacher’s comment, reaction and even silent energy. Do they feel supported? Sometimes yes. Because there are plenty of talented educators who know their role is not only in teaching the content of their discipline but more importantly, they are there to support the blossoming treasures that our kids are growing into to reach their full potential. And I personally think that educating both teachers and parents on how the brain learns will change the way they perceive the world and the people around them. This will eventually help adapt the educational process to nurture that limitless potential that all children are blessed with at birth!

Bio

Emma (fictitious name) is currently reading towards a Masters in Gestalt Psychotherapy with prior equivalent of Masters in Economics and Management. She is a full-time mother of two lovely children, who changed her life. They led her to seek further education and development as a person, as well as, a professional as they opened her eyes to the importance of the quality of relationships above everything else. She absolutely loves reading and thinks music is the finest of all the art forms.