The Blank Slate MYTH

A few weeks ago I observed Jacob, my now 2 year old, pulling on a rope, that was attached to a tree. He would run with it until it ran out of slack and would yank him to the ground. (watch video) He didn't like getting pulled back or falling; but he continued to pull the rope and run. Repeatedly. 

I wondered WHY he kept doing this. Wasn't he learning? 

But then I observed him in the backyard... with his play horse. 

He had observed his dad take the dog for a walk ON A LEASH and now he was walking his toy horse ON A LEASH.  

If I pull on the rope, MY LEASH, then... what's attached will follow. 

He had LEARNED this from observation and was just applying it to the tree. But the tree didn't behave like his WORKING THEORY.  

For years it was thought that a student's mind was a blank slate. MYTH!!  From the moment a person enters this world as an infant they are learning. They don't know they are learning, but they are.

If I cry then... 

If I smile then... 

If I throw this then... 

If I take my diaper off then...

If I pull on this rope then…

The slate is NEVER blank.

This learning builds the brain. And this infrastructure is what our children bring to the academic table.  I know your thinking... how do we engage with this kind of already existing infrastructure? 

Jacob's brain had already built an understanding around the relationship between pulling a rope or leash and having the attached move with you. The tree should've worked the same way. But it didn't.  I intervened and explained that the rope was attached to a tree and it was too big to move. But he had no concept of weight or size, so he continued with HIS UNDERSTANDING. He figured... keep pulling and it will eventually move. 

Consider a different context. Relationship behavior. We observed our parents relationship and how they treated each other, the good and the bad. We learned how to interact, how to handle conflict, how to love etc. and subsequently built an infrastructure based on those observations. We did NOT enter our first relationship or marriage with a BLANK SLATE. 

Now for some this infrastructure is strong and based on great examples of kindness, forgiveness, and love. But for some it’s weak and built on incorrect, incomplete, and/or faulty observations, like Jacob’s leash theory.  Neither person has a BLANK SLATE.

Our brains have built an infrastructure of how relationships work based on observations NOT on what people tell us (which is show don’t tell… a topic for another blog).  We are NOT blank slates.  Our SLATES have been writing themselves by what we have observed for years… a process called LEARNING.

Since birth, we have been LEARNING what LOVE looks and feels like and now we use that infrastructure to LOVE our families. Good and bad. 

The same is true with academic knowledge. Frequently, we have built our brains (unconsciously of course) on incomplete or incorrect observations. But we have being LEARNING none-the-less.

What this means is that every person comes to the learning table with existing infrastructures built by his/her observations.  And these WILL affect how each of us learns new ideas. 

THEN THE BIG QUESTION:  HOW do we REACH past or through these infrastructures to help our children learn?

REVISION.

Instead of the BLANK SLATE… we work with the existing understanding and help them REVISE it. The good news is that EVERYONE CAN LEARN!  The brain is an amazing piece of machinery and can rebuild itself (research to share with you in another blog) by LEARNING. But we have to approach our children in a way that addresses these existing understandings versus hoping the BLANK SLATE myth is true.

• The physics misconception that heavy things fall faster than slow things can be addressed through an experience where OBSERVING both a heavy and light object fall at the same rate…breaking down and rebuilding his/her working infrastructure.
• The misconception that LOVE is something you only get when you are good can be unlearned. 
• The misconception that because I can’t do what other 3rd graders can do, I’m dumb can be torn down and rebuilt with observing him/herself complete challenging tasks with support.
• The misconception that all ropes attached to other things can move those things can be revised. 

The process requires becoming AWARE of the incomplete or incorrect understanding and intentionally CHALLENGING that understanding with the truth. The OBSERVATIONS help to REVISE the understanding.

Jacob pulled the rope on the tree for about 3 more days with no success before he went to where the rope was attached to the tree and found the knot. He obviously couldn't undo it himself, but he did realize the tree was NOT going to move like his other toys. I unattached the rope for him and he attached it to something smaller. He now drags a bucket around the yard. He did LEARN. He REVISED his internal infrastructure about ropes attached to things. While he still might not get the difference between heavy and light… he knows the tree is not going to be moved.

Some research is showing that learning even happens in the womb. When mom pushes, I kick. When I kick, mom pushes. And more…

There is NO BLANK SLATE. Instead of hoping for it… let’s embrace working with the reality that our kids are ALWAYS learning.

Do you have an example of when you observed your child REVISE an understanding? Share with us what experience and observations helped them REVISE it in our Group Homeschooling HUB.

Jill