Does your child prefer to learn alone or with a group?

Some children feel distracted when working with others. They feel that this inhibits their sense of focus and their thinking processes. These are children who want to work independently or alone.

Other children, when working with a best friend or bosom buddy, are more efficient and productive.

Still, some children find it more enjoyable and fulfilling to work with more of their peers, particularly those with whom they share common interests, aspirations, likes and dislikes, talents and abilities.

Lastly, there are children who prefer to work with a team or as a group and find fulfillment in doing so. Their productivity and performance are boosted by the contributions they make to the team’s success in a project or lesson.

Does your child prefer to learn with or without an authority figure present?

Mother knows best.

From the time your child was born, he looked up to you as parent for knowledge and enlightenment.

A child will normally respond well to an authority figure who is knowledgeable, and who provides specific guidelines and a list of expectations. Children tend to follow what their parents say, and crave parental approval to assure them that what they are doing is right.

As they grow older, however, they tend to question authority and resist coercion. They will more often than not do things by themselves without interference. This behavior is less a matter of defiance and more a matter of selfassertion.

At a certain stage, your child will prefer it when you ask rather than tell him what you think he is supposed to do.

The author: Henry S. Tenedero is the president of the Center for Learning and Teaching Styles, an affiliate of the International Learning Styles Network, based at St. John’s University in New York. He is a graduate of the AIM Masters in Development management and of the Harvard Graduate School for Professional Educators. He is the author of the following books: Cooking Up A Creative Genius; The HI CLASS Teacher, Breakthrough Ideas in Education; and Using Passion and Laughter in Your Presentations. He can be reached at htenedero@yahoo.com