Unlocking Blocks to Learning

In the competitive world of school, experiences of success motivate children to learn and achieve in the classroom. Resistance to learning in the form of disruptive behavior, inattentiveness, failure to complete work, and lack of motivation often result from the child's experience of failure or excessive frustration in learning. Academic success requires intact ego functions which continue to develop through the learning and mastery experiences provided in the classroom. These ego functions are described from the educational and neurological viewpoint by Marvin Levine as neurodevelopmental constructs such as attention, memory, and sequencing ability which constitute the components of the ability to learn. Thorough investigation of the child's cognitive and learning profile is essential in order to identify possible reasons for academic difficulty. Emotional stress from family or other sources can also impair ego functioning, causing blocks to learning which lead to resistance in the classroom. Once the source of the learning difficulty is clear, appropriate interventions can often effectively address problem behaviors.