Why Boring Education Hurts Children
You may want your child to do all 100 math problems, even though she did the same kind of problems yesterday, and got them all correct. Your child may cry. You may let them move ahead, or you might say no, you need to complete the course as written, it will only make you stronger. More practice makes you better.
Or you may be pushing your child forward, even though she missed half of the problems from yesterday’s lesson, you are moving onto the next thing. That is what the curriculum does, and after all, it was written by experts who know better than you. But the experts don’t know your child. They don’t know how much repetition your child needs before they have mastered a concept and are ready to move on. It is the job of the curriculum to provide as much material as you may need.
You don’t have to be an expert to know when to skip and when to repeat lessons with your child. Your just have to trust your child’s brain. To help you do that, we will dive into the amygdala, which can teach us why it is so important for your child to be in between the states of boredom and frustration when it comes to learning.
When sensory data goes into your brain it must pass through the emotional core, or limbic system, the amygdala is a part of this system. This emotional part of the brain acts like a filter, deciding whether the sensory input…
