Getting Students Ready to Learn

Early Thinking Skills

By Eric Jensen

The brain is fully ready for thinking through tactile learning as early as nine months. The cortex is not fully developed yet, but the cerebellum is ready. This cauliflower-shaped organ at the back bottom of the brain works overtime in infants. Surprisingly, most infants already understand basic counting principles and simple physics before age one. Neural circuits for math and logic are ready for "planting the seeds" at this age. Parents who explore these possibilities are laying the foundation for long-term success in school.

What's more, infants whose parents talk to them more frequently and use bigger, "adult" words will develop better language skills, says Janellen Huttenlocher at the University of Chicago. "During this time, there is a huge vocabulary to be acquired." This crucial time lays the pathway for reading skills later on.

Developing reading skills is another story. Although babies can learn to see, point to, and say a word, there's little meaning until they have sufficient life experience to match words and experience. Studies suggest babies listen to words even though they cannot yet speak. All the words, understood or not, are contributing to the development of syntax, vocabulary, and meaning. It is believed that this time is critical for language development. Surprisingly, there is no absolute timetable for learning to read. Differences of three years are normal. Some children will be ready to read at four years; others, just as normal, will be ready at seven or even ten years. The child who reads at seven might not be "developmentally delayed" as many have diagnosed.