How to Establish and Foster a Learning Culture in Your Family

What is a learning culture? To understand it better, we must consider how culture is defined in a general sense. Culture at its most basic is ways that we live, including arts, beliefs, institutions of a population promoted and handed down through generations. It is the air we breathe and roads we walk, the schools we attend, the friends we keep, the family that raises us that define for us every day who we are and who we are to become. So, it stands to reason that a learning culture might embody similar characteristics, ones that help outline the daily ways in which we receive and process information, the ways in which we interpret communications and the ways in which we communicate formally and informally. The ways we place importance on subjects or fields of study. Simply put, a learning culture isn’t merely providing information for children and expecting them to soak it up or memorize it. A learning culture imbues a child with a perception of the world, that either sets a child up for success by supporting them and instilling in them a love of learning that will provide a lifelong foundation in learning how to learn, or that will hamper them in some way because the supports have been insufficient or inconsistent.

Montessori early childhood learning develops fine motor function, focus and student agency.

Puzzles, games & crafts are great ways to learn together

Societal culture is as much an ingredient that shapes learning as is classroom instruction. Parents shape the culture of the family, while friends, advertising, media, and the world at large determine the wider culture that we each experience on a day-to-day basis. With the invention and ubiquitous presence of television, film, radio and the omni-present internet, children are learning not only in their classrooms and their homes but from the broader culture at large.

Social media has influenced our culture in a myriad of ways, and now, for better or worse, our children, along with the rest of us, are experiencing life through the lens of social media, streaming media, and the internet. This in and of itself is not good nor bad, but a situation to be monitored so that children are guided and provided for in ways that are most beneficial for their intellectual and social/emotional development. 

Here’s the problem: No one or two people or even teams of people can safeguard our children completely on their journey to adulthood. We can each do our best – be careful to preserve their innocence, teach them well and help them to grow their minds.  We can send them to the best schools we can, make sure they do their homework, read books, and monitor their peer group to an extent. Then what?  

Parents are more stressed than ever.

Parents ask us, “Why doesn’t my kid like to read? “ or “When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait to read the latest Nancy Drew mystery… or “ I used to ride my bike every day after school. What happened? “

Parents are more stressed than ever. Photo Credit: Getty Images

We  know a lot has happened that has affected the ways in which we live. And for our kids, it’s not only computer screens that have changed the landscape. It’s 9/11, the Covid outbreak and pandemic. It’s inflation, and school shootings, it’s American banks failing, it’s everything we’re experiencing right now that adds to the insecurity of our lives and the uncertainty of our future. 

Educationally our kids are falling behind. According to the NAEP report card, math, reading and history scores from the past three years show that students learned far less during the pandemic than was standard in previous years. (“Parents Don’t Understand How Far Behind Their Kids Are in School”) And this decline was not limited to a specific category of student: American students lost ground across all economic strata but low income and minority students will have a poorer chance of recovery.  While the pandemic was a unique, historical event that set off a myriad of stresses, considering ways to help with this shortfall is essential.

As educators and parents, we believe we must educate our kids in a way that builds their resilience, their ability to fall, make mistakes, and get back up. We must build their intellectual muscle, their physical muscles and immerse them in a culture of growing and of knowing that mistakes are the first step towards learning. They need to know that our minds are flexible and that if mindful and focused, they can learn whatever they need to.  

How do we do this? There are many things that you can do to foster a learning culture in your home. Educating a child goes beyond traditional learning in the classroom or through homework. What you would generally want is a holistic approach, whereby you try more than one thing to nurture a child’s learning and development, a philosophy that has been proven to be quite effective.  

Here are some tips to get you started:

§ Become involved in the learning process:

First and foremost, be an active participant in your child’s learning.  To some busy parents, this might seem like a big ask. However, the fact remains that whenever there are reports about academic shortfalls, they tend not to mention the role of parents in their child’s learning. Research has shown that parental involvement is often the biggest factor, including race or class, in shaping academic success. While school budgets tend to run out for programs such as summer learning, parents, who operate on love, are always a resource for reading with their kids and other invaluable learning activities such as demonstrating measurements while cooking and baking together. Studies show that parental involvement on all levels contributes to children’s success as adults. I recall getting my son a chemistry set and spending many hours experimenting with him. He went on to excel in AP Chemistry in high school and now works in a scientific field. Another excellent example is the Suzuki method, whereby the parent learns along with their child how to play a violin or piano.

§ Be a role model:

From an early age, children learn by observing their parents. Remember when your child wanted to follow along with their Little Tykes lawn mower when you were mowing the lawn? When your child sees you reading, doing puzzles, attending a complex science talk on Zoom or in person, and discussing challenging topics with other adults, you are setting a great learning example.

§ Develop a relationship with your child’s teacher(s):

Attend back-to-school night and parent-teacher conferences and be in regular contact regarding your child’s learning and what they should be working on. Reflect what they are learning in school in the home environment, such as trips to historical sites when they are studying local history.

§ Focus on the learning process itself:

Promote a growth mindset by emphasizing that your child will improve over time with practice. So many kids have been discouraged with thinking such as “I’m not good at math!” Children often have a great fear of being wrong. Try to lessen the emotional impact of making mistakes and reassure them that it is all part of the learning process. Get them to pay attention to how they learn by trying different strategies. Encourage them when they face challenges.  In this way, you are building resilience and giving them the confidence to take risks and learn new things.

§ Talk to your kids about what they see and experience:

Do this in a way that involves them and their perspective. Learning occurs everywhere, not just in school. Encourage discovery-based learning by exploring and asking questions. This approach can also be a good basis to casually initiate a discussion that encourages active learning. If a child hangs back or seems unresponsive, you can start by contributing your own thoughts or feelings. Try it after attending museums, nature parks, science centers or an interesting play or film.

§ Encourage them to pursue their interests:

If you have a child who loves dinosaurs, visit your local museum of natural history so they can learn dinosaur facts. If you notice your child watching SpongeBob Squarepants, talk to them about the creatures represented and visit an aquarium. Persuade them to talk with or ask questions of museum guides or nature park staff. Have them work on projects that focus on these interests.

§ Have your child learn by coaching or teaching:

At TeachMe TV, we have started an excellent series called Kids Teaching Kids. Children are able to watch other kids solve math problems and teach other topics. As a fun project, you can have your child teach you or create a video tutorial on a subject they have just learned or a topic that interests them. Research shows that teaching a subject or topic is an excellent strategy for learning and involves a variety of skills such as organization, research, distilling information and public speaking. If there are knowledge gaps or shortfalls, have them use materials or notes from their teacher or resources from the local library. 

§ Read together:

While many parents stop reading the bedtime story after their child learns to read, reading together is an outstanding way to foster learning and communication. We read the Harry Potter series, The Magic Pudding, and the Percy Jackson series aloud to my son, and it was an enjoyable experience for the whole family. Talk to your child about what you’ve read, stopping to ask questions about what they think will happen next, do they like the characters, why did a character act a certain way, and so on.

Puzzles, games & crafts are great ways to learn together

§ Use play as an opportunity to learn:

Puzzles, games, crafts, and educational software can make learning fun. Do home experiments to see what happens when you immerse an egg in vinegar over several days. Use educational technology to support their learning in an enjoyable way.  TeachMe TV, for example, has high quality educational games and videos from kindergarten to sixth grade, creating a fun and interesting environment whereby children learn by discovery, developing problem solving and other skills.

In short, while the remedy for this academic shortfall won’t happen overnight, there are many things you can do to establish a learning culture and help your child acquire the tools they need to succeed. Communities should certainly step up on their part with additional efforts such as summer learning programs, organizations or tutors to work with students, or even adding an extra school year for students to catch up. However, as a parent you can help to mitigate this pandemic learning loss, and if you need any help, work with your child’s school or use the free programs out there to help you get started. By taking this learning loss seriously, and considering yourself a partner in your child’s learning, you will both be off to a strong start.

Article written by Bonnie Schultz with Carolyn Sloan