How to get into Second Life without really trying

Selby Evans is Thinkerer Melville in Second Life

1. Children’s impulsiveness, lack of planning, and lack of concern with long-term consequences may be largely due to the natural physical development of the brain. Brains don’t fully mature until about age 25 and the frontal lobes of the cortex that are responsible for “looking to the future” are among the last areas to develop.  
 

2. Children’s attitudes about themselves and others may be distorted due to a lack of brain maturity when they are formed. Unfortunately these attitudes can be self-sustaining. They create expectations, which lead to self-fulfilling prophecies. For example, children who have had bad early experiences with math because of lack of brain development may create self-images that lead them to avoid or give up on math courses even if their brains are now capable of handling this material.
 

3. Children seem to learn best when given the “right amount of help” with homework. In effect, just enough to get them past motivation and understanding barriers. Too much creates dependence and slows growth. Too little can lead to frustration and confusion. Help with planning and thinking about long-term consequences may be especially important (see point 1).
 

4. Creativity is enhanced by incubation (time away from the problem or task) and by shifting perspective (thinking about how someone else would view the problem). Children’s impulsiveness resulting from immature frontal lobes may keep them from using these techniques.
 

5. Children and adults are strongly and often unconsciously influenced by the physical and social environment. Parts of the environment prime and cue the brain to be in certain states. For example, lying in bed typically cues sleep. Your child’s environment while doing homework can be cultivated to cue motivation and concentration.