Listening, Observing, Remembering, Practicing
An Ancient Way of Learning

by Heather Forest

Listening, observing, remembering, and practicing are primary ways that all people learn basic skills from early childhood on. These modes also were essential in learning survival skills in ancient pre-literate times. Many ancient as well as contemporary skills are learned through a person to person communication involving storytelling and demonstration. In order to learn one must be a competent listener. One must be able to pay attention to what is demonstrated, remember what has been shown or told, and then practice to gain functional skill.

Examples of skills learned by listening, observing, remembering and practicing in ancient times could be:

Walking, swimming, dancing
Language acquisition
Use of tools
Preparation of food
Making of attire, decoration
Construction of housing
Hunting/Gathering, etc.

Do Modern People Learn in the Ancient Way?

Consider all the things learned by listening, observing, remembering and practicing. From braiding hair to swimming, to tying shoes, to learning to read and write, people teach each other many things as people have always taught skills. Human interaction is an important part of learning. In a media world where paper is easy to come by, tape recorders, cameras, and videotape can easily document events and ideas, the need to have a good memory could be considered obsolete. Yet, despite the progress of modern media, simple listening, observing, remembering and practicing remain functional skills in all areas of education.

Copyright © 2000   Heather Forest

Copyright © 2000   Story Arts