Sample essay on learning theories

Learning is a process that varies with time, age and environment. As a young child there are many things that one can learn from the elder members of the society, many people have had the misconception that learning only takes place in the school set up but this is just one of the learning environment. The family environment is the first environment a child is introduced to, which becomes the first learning environment. Lessons learnt in the childhood period play a key role in the development of a child; one grows with these lessons even into adulthood. Lessons learnt in the childhood period form the foundation of learning and unless one has a firm learning foundation. It might be difficult to understand other lessons learnt in the future. The childhood stage marks the basic level of learning, young children learn by observing and listening to the people who are around them. A child who plays violent games or watched violent programs is likely to grow up being violent, this is learnt through observing. A child who grows up in isolated areas and is not allowed to socialize with other children is likely to be antisocial even in adulthood. The first teachers to a child are the parents and guardians; they influence the growth and learning of a child not only in the childhood stage but also in adulthood. The school is also another learning institution where children get to learn in a different environment away from home, teachers who handle young children have a key role in their development and learning (Leonard, 2002).
As a young child, there are many lessons that I learn some of which I have lived with even in my adulthood. Many of these lessons were mainly learnt from parents, being the first-born there were no siblings to learn from and apart from my parents, the other lessons were learnt from interaction with friends. My father had to work away from home, and most of my childhood lessons were learnt from my mother, when I went against her rules she would always ensure that I did not go out to play with my friends, she did this as a punishment for my wrongdoing. When my friends came by to play my mother would tell them that I would not be joining them, I, therefore, grew up knowing that the best punishment is denying people the opportunity to do what they love most. Other children were being punished through canning, but my mother rarely canned me. Other children grew up with the fear of being canned, but my greatest fear is someone who denies me the opportunity to do what I love most.
There was an instance whereby I felt sick, and my father had to come home and spend time with me, he was always by my bedside, and he loved holding my hand and reading my favorite stories. This experience taught me a crucial lesson in life that I still live with. When any of my friends falls sick, I ensure that I spare some time to be with him/her. My father taught me a valuable lie lesson that the only way that one can express that he/she cares for others by being there for them during their tough times. While, in the first grade, a classmate was admitted in the hospital and when the teacher asked us to wish him quick recovery I suggested that we should visit him and be there for him, this was influenced by what I had gone through when in a similar situation.
I always loved watching TV adverts, and I loved how alcoholic drinks were being advertised. I felt that those who took beer were celebs in the society since many of the beer brands were advertised by media celebrities. May of my friends suggested that smoking looked cool after watching movies, many of my friends started smoking and taking alcohol but my perspective on drugs changed after I visited a rehabilitation Centre. I had the opportunity to accompany a friend who worked an s a volunteer in a rehabilitation center, and I saw the suffering the drug users were going through. This was a lesson that I had not learnt on from the media that portrayed alcohol and cigarettes to be cool drugs. After being in a rehabilitation center for a week during my holiday, I learnt the negative effects of drugs. When my friends offered me, a cigarette I had to resist and since then I have kept off from drug abusers. I learn the only way that I could live a drug free life especially as a teenager would be through l avoiding bad company. I learned of people who suffer from lung cancer and every time I hear that, somebody is ne education and biology classes I strongly disagreed with my teachers after they explained that there were other causes of lung cancer apart from smoking.
There are different theories of learning that can be used to explain my learning experience in my childhood and teenage age. The environment that I grew up in played a key role in learning, and this can be explained using the social learning theory. Observation and listening were the key learning strategies in my childhood and teenage age; very few lessons were learnt through a practical approach. Through the cognitive development theory, I learnt that the best way to punish a child was through denying him/her the opportunity to do what they love best. Another lesson learnt mainly through this theory is that the best way to console a sick person is being there for them. I always felt better when I saw my father even when I was sick. The social learning theory has a major influence in my learning. After watching T. V, commercials I was convinced that smoking and taking alcohol among teenagers was a cool behavior since celebrities were doing it. The social learning theory is mainly based on observing and making judgments on what one considers good or bad. After observing, what drug addicts were going through my judgment changed. I was exposed to an environment where there were drug addicts going through rehabilitation and from my observation I was sure that the media adverts were misguiding.
A single theory cannot be used to explain all the learning and development, there are other theories such as psychosocial theory and the ecological theory. One learning case can be used explained by different theories, an example being the ecological theory, which is almost similar to the social learning g theories. In all the theories of learning, the environment that one grows in has a great impact on learning (Hergenhahn, 2001). Learning can either be on positive or negative behavior, and self-judgment is very crucial component in all the theories of learning, since it helps one to understand what is right or wrong.

References

Leonard, D. C. (2002). Learning theories, A to Z. Westport, Conn.: Oryx Press.
Hergenhahn, B. R. (2001). An introduction to theories of learning. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall.