Learning one step at a time

"Immersing youth into a world of 'tangible' objects induces opportunity for operant conditioning". That was the argument I thought of when I saw my silly bald-headed self. Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through this practice, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior. In my picture, I had an electric toy which had buttons on it. If I pushed a button, a song would play. I learned this, as a baby, through this conditioning. When a kettle is being heated to boil water, it is unsafe to come into direct contact with the kettle or the hot water within. Wanting to go outside is not a good enough reason to accidentally plant your face into a glass pane or a flimsy black screen. By being hasty, we become blind. From our blindness, we learn and try not to repeat our past mistakes. 
Curiosity and courage are the ingredients which are essential in preparing the dish of new found truth. Through trail and error, we grow. It is just as Abigail Adams had said, "contending with difficulties" is what gives rise to the traits, which would other wise remain dormant, of a insightful being. There should always be some form of challenge. That is why there should be more agreement for more languages to be taught in our schools. The studies express logical benefit, yet for some reason, we don't usually listen to logic sometimes. Curious thing how we don't listen, just like babies.Image result for baby smart gifImage result for baby smart gif




Comments

  1. I like how you relate learning new languages in school to being curious as a baby. Indeed, it seems that the lack of foreign, challenging material has led us to lose our curiosity, the driving force that pushes us to learn more about the world. Well written!

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