Learning Styles

Whilst at school we are taught to learn with our brains or our mental self. The framework used is very linear. Education worldwide is a step by step progression through a series of tasks which are designed to keep us moving forward to a final finishing line, our final exams. At this point we either pass or fail. If we pass we can go onto the next stage, if we fail we have to look at what we can do with our lives. In most societies there is social pressure to pass your exams to move on to University and to “make something of yourself”. But what of those who do not make the grade?

The model used for schools and education with few exceptions is a left-brained, organized, step by step systematic one. Logical step by step approaches to the learning of skills, concepts and practices has left many of the right brained students disadvantaged. However, by the very nature of their creative and spontaneous approach to life these students very often find a way around the obstacles and continue to learn creatively. It is often when another problem occurs that these sensitive learners begin to fall by the wayside. An over demanding system can damage the self esteem and overwhelm the child with a sense of not being good enough. Delicate health or a sense of responsibility to other siblings or parents can stem the natural creative flow of learning. A child who is loved, nurtured and valued at home and at school will overcome many obstacles in order to learn and keep up with his or her classmates. Problems occur then the child begins to withdraw with a sense of failure, a sense of feeling different and of being different to the other children.

During this transition stage the body language begins to change. The posture will become more stooped and protective, eye contact is rarely made and joyfulness and laughter become a thing of the past. The child feels a failure because they have failed to learn as their classmates do. By guiding the child towards emotional coherence, and a greater sense of connection to the whole family, community, country, world and universe we can open up the other doorways for learning.

There are many adults and children who carry a sense of failure when really the fault is not theirs but the result of an educational model which was unable to cater for their learning needs. This is beginning to change in Europe with greater emphasis on Inclusive Education and the recognition of specific individual learning needs. In other words, the educational systems regognize their responsibility to provide for the needs of the student in order for them to succeed. The students failure is the systems failure and their responsibility.