A Fable for Parents

Once upon a time there were three families living in a small village in the mountains of some faraway country. The families were happy and wanted their children to have wonderful futures. But the village was very small and the knew that, if their children were to be successful, they had to send them on a journey, a journey along the path of learning that would help them reach their heart’s desire.

The time came for the sons from the families to start their long journey along the path of learning to get to the land of their dreams, so they packed their bags and set off.

We are going to follow the adventures of three of the boys from the village.

Tom came from a family which loved him very much and wanted the very best for him. Whenever Tom wanted anything there was always someone there to provide it. Tom wanted for nothing. So when his parents packed his knapsack for him they filled it with good wishes.

Dick came from a large family where he had to fend for himself. When he packed his own knapsack he put in a sandwich that he had made along with the good wishes of his family.

Harry was really looking forward to this journey. He had been thinking about this adventure for a long time. His family helped him pack his knapsack with food and, because they did such a good job, there was plenty of space left for a map of the road ahead.

The three boys set off on the path of learning to their future.

All went well for the first few hours. The boys were learning all kinds of new things as they went along the path. Then they started to get hungry.

Dick and Harry had food in their packs, so they had something to eat. But Tom had not packed any food and he was running out of energy. He decided that try as he might he could not finish the journey and went back home. No more learning for Tom.

Dick and Harry carried on until they met a bear which was sitting in the middle of the path and would not let them pass. They did not know what to do. Then Harry had an idea. He still had some food left in his backpack and he offered it to the bear. The bear was so pleased that Harry was willing to share his food that he let him pass. Dick was not so lucky. He did not want to share his sandwiches with the bear, he wanted to keep them for himself. Because he would not share his food with the bear he could not pass. He had to go back. No more learning for Dick.

So Harry went on alone, thankful that he had food for energy and to share with the bear. But his troubles were not over. Suddenly the road, which, as in all good fairy stories, had been straight and easy to see up till now, split into several roads, each going in a different direction.Which road would get him to where he needed to go?

Luckily he remembered the map in his knapsack. He got it out, looked at it and discovered that if he took the road on the right he would reach his destination. On he went, happy in the knowledge that he had a bright future in front of him, full of good things to do and interesting people to meet.

(And, being a good son, I am sure that he would send money back to his family!)

Let us review this story.

Tom, Dick, and Harry, were all bright boys who were looking forward to their educational journey to the land of their dreams.

But Tom did not have the energy to make the journey and had to turn back.
I have taught many children who did not have the physical skills they needed to be able to learn. Children who were too tired to learn or who had vision or hearing problems.

Dick could not proceed along the path of learning because he did not have the emotional skills he needed to understand that sharing would have helped him on his way.
Many children fail to learn because they lack the emotional learning skills they need to be able to learn. Mostly they lack self confidence because of repeated failures.

Harry had the physical skills he needed (energy from food) and the emotional skill he needed to get past the bear (the ability to share), but he was still stopped on his journey when he had to choose which way to go. Fortunately he could use the map to help him (the cognitive skill of planning and goal setting).
Harry was no brighter than the others, but because he had the learning skills he needed he was able to benefit from his education.

In the end only Harry who had the physical, emotional, and cognitive skills he needed was able to travel along the path of learning.

Now for the moral of this tale (all fairly stories have one!)

Traveling along the path of learning can be very difficult if you do not have the skills you need.

So what can parents do?

1. Make sure that you help your young child develop the learning skills he or she needs. (Check out the course ‘Leading to Learning’)

2. If your child is struggling to learn find out which learning skills are weak and help your child develop them. (Check out the course ‘ Love of Learning’)