by Kristen Alliegro

Created on: June 03, 2008

Education begins long before the discovery of self ever comes into question. Learning begins at the moment the brain stem is developed in utero, when an embryo can hear his mother's voice vibrating through uterine walls. Learning begins when the biochemistry of the mother affects the unborn child with favorable or unfavorable feedback. Like any living creature, whether plant or animal, the process of learning is very much self-motivated regardless of self-awareness. It is more the question of to what extent and to what end does the ability to be so independent and self sufficient in one's own academic experiences serve? What prompts a child to actively engage in self-teaching?

Initially, the most common factor in the early stages of learning is reinforcement. If an infant cries for formula and receives his desire immediately, then he has learned that crying produces his desired outcome. If another infant gurgles, smiles and coos and receives affection then she will most likely repeat these behaviors to achieve those same outcomes. When a given action results in consistent reaction, then said action will quickly become learned and reproduced.

As a child grows, they begin to further experiment with their own behaviors seeking reaction from those around them, gauging and making judgments to determine if the reaction is one that they wish to experience repeatedly. Many parents, educators and other adults will term some of these behaviors as boundary testing, particularly if the reactions to a given behavior or set of behaviors are inconsistent, confusing the child in his or her learning.

One method of ensuring a child will be self educating is through a process known as natural consequence. In early development, natural consequence helps a child to understand that their actions and behaviors result in outcomes that are not necessarily mandated by adults, but rather as a consequence that directly reflects their initial action. An example: a toddler who has a pet cat will be naturally fascinated by pointy ears, long whiskers and a tail that whips about moodily. If that child is given a verbal warning as to the consequence of pulling his pet's tail, the child then has the option of believing or experimenting. Anyone familiar with children of this age group will know that a toddler will not be able to resist that tail, no matter how many times he is warned that he may get scratched or bitten. Most toddlers have not yet reached a point of development to understand that

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