Everybody learns differently. However, our school system targets visual/audio learners who learn best from sitting in lectures, reading books and taking notes. Lucky for me, that's the way I learn best. However this year I've had a chance to learn how difficult it is to learn in styles that aren't yours. I took Anatomiken classes at the Boulder College of Massage Therapy, BCMT, a very kinesthetic learning class, you actually make muscles out of clay and place them on a plastic skeleton. (For all you visual learners that are interested in Anatomiken, watch the demo carefully! Don't bother trying to follow along.)
BCMT recognizes that there are many different learning styles and they try hard to meet all the learning styles in every class. I wish our elementary and high schools did the same. This Washington Post article, Disappearing Act, talks about how many boys don't do well in our current system.
Boys
have a lot of Huck Finn in them -- they don't, on average, learn as
well as girls by sitting still, concentrating, multitasking, listening
to words.
As the parent of a very bright 5 year old boy who has a lot of trouble sitting still and concentrating on learning how to read, I could relate to the article.
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