Good Essay On Social Learning

I was surprised to discover that teachers are unable to predict what children learn in school from their experiences because of differences in background. Most of the teachers come from the middle class because children come from all social classes. Consequently, teachers are unable to contextualize the behavior of these children. The article states “teachers are more apt to criticize children’s social behaviors” (Brady 293). I underestimated the influence of social background on learning, but the article has made me realize that social differences are the greatest hindrance to child education.
The article explores how family influences learning. The article notes that children a lot from family including manners and behavior. For instance, children learn early behavior by imitating their parents. Parents reinforce right or bad behavior by punishing or rewarding a child’s behavior. The values or practices of family influence a child’s later behavior. One of the most common family values is hard work. A lot of families emphasize on hard work and motivate their children to get high scores in academics by telling them it is the source of their happiness. Thus, the child works hard to get good grades so that he can make his parents happy (Brady 294).
The ideas of the article align with the current social influences. Families are the primary source of early learning for children. Children spend their childhood with their parents and siblings before they go to school. Parents teach their children how to behave and caution them from certain behaviors (Gonzalez-Mena 2-6). Consequently, children follow whatever they are taught because parents become their first teachers. It is no wonder that children behave differently because they come from different backgrounds. Their parents have taught them different things and when they gather together they exhibit different behaviors.

Works Cited

Brady, Elizabeth. Social Learning Begins at Home. Educational Leadership. 1950.
Gonzalez-Mena, Janet. Societal Influences on Children and Families. In Child, Family, and Community: Family-Centered Early Care and Education. New York: Pearson, 2013.