family focus >> family counseling The Evolution Of Learning T and hundreds of television channels oday, it takes little effort can influence our thinking better than to learn virtually anything. our families, friends, teachers and When we want to discover or communities. Learning from each purchase something, we just "Google" other provides a variety of ways to it. This simple act locates any idea or understand how the world works and product from an abundance of online the means to improve it. Through such resources. social learning, we learn to It is easy to recognize recognize whom to trust, how the way we learn has what to avoid and when to changed dramatically as a act; gut-based abilities not result of new technology. readily available online. In earlier times, when we Learning quality depends had questions, we had to on who and how informa- go to the library, search tion is conveyed. In early through an encyclopedia or education, children need seek out parents or teachers teachers who care and can to explain what we could engage the love of learning. not grasp. Such an inquiry Da niel By high school, students might take hours or days, if Rosen baum, need proper study habits pursued at all. PhD, LMSW and critical thinking skills. To our amazement, the College students must func- computing power of our tion independently, preparing papers, devices has expanded so much more lectures and examinations outside the than anyone could imagine and, classroom. Graduate or professional incredibly, will grow exponentially in the next decade. Learning has changed education emphasizes doing research and gaining practical experience so from a rigorous pursuit of ideas to as to be qualified to practice autono- "surfing" websites hoping for some mously. grand insight. Anything we want is as No matter what we learn or how close as the smart phones in our pock- ets. Consequently, we have become too we learn it, we must always examine used to the quick availability of knowl- presented ideas with a critical eye and well-honed skepticism. As the edge. For that reason, we may be on Luddites learned two centuries ago, the brink of losing our ability to figure we cannot shield ourselves from every things out for ourselves. invention and innovation which sup- Understanding underlying prin- posedly makes our lives easier. ciples has given way to knowing which We must teach the next generation buttons to push. This inclination has how to navigate the cavalcade of com- radically changed the process of learn- peting convictions. The ways we learn ing from knowledge integration to may change over time, but compre- mechanical performance. Such acci- dental learning leads to the creation of hending the intellectual foundations of learning is necessary to survive in websites, like Wikipedia, that can be any age. factually biased or seriously inaccu- Teach your children to develop their rate. Too often learning is a struggle to own resourcefulness without over-reli- discern fact from misinformation. As ance on others' know-how. Encourage the current generation becomes future them to discuss what they don't under- decision makers, on what will they base crucial judgments if they have not stand and to examine what is implied between the lines of what they read. learned to reason soundly? While real wisdom may not always be In this technological age, we no accessible, parents need to be. That's longer have to store knowledge in our how we all truly learn. brains, that is, to actually learn. After finding a good website, we now book- mark it as a "favorite" so we can return Dr. Daniel Rosenbaum is a clinical social worker at Counseling Associates lnc.in to it as needed. Will writing things West Bloomfield, where he counsels chil- down for future recall become super- dren, teens and adults experiencing family fluous? Has genuine learning become or personal psychological problems. Reach an unnecessary chore? Still, none of the millions of websites him at (248) 626-1500. PINIAVTIVW0) .1fk -114 Weekly Swim Lessons! 4 months - 12 years of age 4:1 student to teacher ratio 30-minute weekly lessons r Fall into swim lessons with Goldfish Swim School! Put your children into the hands you can trust most, we're dedicated to your children and their development. 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