Slow Learning: A Variety Or An Anomaly?

You cannot talk about learning without talking about the educational system. They are two realities that are closely linked and that condition each other. A first element, certainly problematic, is in the so-called slow learning. And it is problematic because it defines an ideal speed parameter, but strictly referring to that education system.

Much of the educational systems in the world are rigidly standardized. In other words, they define what each person should learn, how and when they should do it. They also define specific ways to assess whether or not this was achieved.

It is from this system that what is slow is established and what is not. It starts from the idea that the system is correct and that, if the individual responds to what it demands, it works properly. If it does not, it presents a deficit or a “to correct” trait. It is then when labels such as “slow”, “fast”, “smart”, or not are formulated. And the worst thing is that on those bases a whole path of school success or failure is built.

Slow learning or just different?

This is a true anecdote. A third grade boy came into this school year with difficulty reading and writing quickly. His teacher frequently singled him out as the worst in the class. She used to write a text on the board for the children to copy. The boy in this story always finished after the others.

Since they couldn’t wait for it, the teacher simply erased the board and demanded that he later catch up on another classmate’s notebook. One day, after this ritual, the teacher did not find the eraser. The boy had taken it without anyone noticing and had hidden it. He finished the transcription and went out himself and erased the board.

Could we say that this child was not intelligent? If we define intelligence as an ability to use available information in order to solve problems, we should conclude that it was a brilliant act. It involved a process of analysis that included definition of a problem, evaluation of alternatives and proposed solution. It was also an ethical act, since at no time did he want to hide his behavior, but to emphasize his right to have the same opportunity as others.

The boy in our story was punished for this. She “held back” others and defied the teacher’s orders. She was only interested in the children being able to copy the text in the time when most of them did.

Learning rhythms and contexts

All teachers, and the educational system itself, proclaim that learning is an integral reality. It involves cognitive processes and also emotional, relational, symbolic, etc. At least that’s what they theoretically admit. However, how many teachers take into account the context of the child’s life to establish in what real conditions he is learning?

In Bogotá (Colombia) a pilot learning test was carried out in a public school, applying the pedagogical methods of Jean Piaget. For this pedagogue, the content of the learning was not important, but the mental process involved. That is why in the pilot school grades, courses and subjects were eliminated. There was a list of classes and each child entered the one they wanted. And he was never evaluated numerically for it.

The results were amazing. The children were very motivated. They could attend the same class several times if required and were encouraged to do so. Performance increased significantly and learning was much more effective. Since they were not passed or failed, they were more spontaneous in asking what they did not understand. And they felt that school was their favorite place. Something similar has happened with the so-called “Escuela Milagro” in Barcelona.

Thus, before pathologizing or stigmatizing a child indicating that they have slow learning, an attention deficit, an intellectual delay, etc., we should also make a diagnosis about the educational system from which they are being judged and labeled.

It is also convenient to analyze what its context is. Does something happen in your family or individual life that makes you anxious or depressed? Does your environment facilitate learning? Beyond neurological considerations, we still have a lot to discuss about it.