A strong component of what we do at Omatas is the preparation of the child for learning.
We see academic ability as the fruit that is able to grow abundantly and healthily when the rest of the tree is strong and solid and growing in an environment that supports it.
When we have to ‘over teach’ an academic area then we have not yet done enough to strengthen the child’s readiness to learn that task. Over-teaching is often the point when teachers start huffing and puffing, rolling their eyes at the student and losing their regulation – exasperated and feeling like they’re getting nowhere.
This is a clear indicator that the teacher has taken on the learning role as well as the teaching role. In Alfred Adler’s work he talks of SEPERATION OF TASK, when a teacher is getting angry that a student isn’t learning, she has taken on the child’s task. The child is responsible for learning. You’ve known these teachers, the ones that talk louder and slower when you as the same question again.
The academics results achieved at Omatas are the fruits of labour that come naturally after the work is done. The work is something completely different. The work lies in these quadrants of Our Hierarchy Tree.
When we have prepared a child properly, we can’t stop them from learning the academic work. Just like you cannot stop the fruit tree from bearing fruit when it is ready to do so. But when we demand fruit before the tree is ready, it’s like hanging ornaments for decoration.
“Each time one prematurely teaches a child something he could have discovered himself, that child is kept from inventing it and consequently from understanding it completely.” Jean Piaget
