 Good news. This type of learner will learn despite you! But, there is bad news. He can completely exhaust you with his intensity and questions. The focused learner has a greedy appetite for knowledge, as he wants to be able to understand, explain, predict and control realities. He tries to find uncover principles and to use them in structuring his cognitive and intellectual world.
There are some indicators that you have one growing in your home:
- the focused learner loves problem solving, research, experimentation and intellectual inquiry.
- he likes creative thoughts and chooses research and investigation as a leisure activity.
- he focuses on one task for long periods of time and can tune out all other distractions or even all other responsibilities.
The focused learner has a serious nature and is happy that way. This learner gets a great complacency in his own achievements and doesn’t need the approval from others as the Routine Learner does. His most difficulties lie in accepting his own limitations. He often becomes frustrated if he cannot succeed in solving a problem or attaining his goals. He may also ignore subjects and responsibilities outside his narrow frame of interest. So, this learner needs help and encouragement from you in keeping his shortcomings in perspective. Also he needs outside accountability to insure all responsibilities eventually are completed with an acceptable level of competency.
The focused learner is very objective and analytical in his decision-making and has a difficult time expressing emotions or understanding others’ emotional responses to situations. He predominantly relates to his peers in an instructional, not personal, manner. Therefore, he is often the odd man out socially.
Program Suggestions
The focused student can be satisfied with materials created for classroom use, if you must go that route, but don’t hand him inferior stuff. He does not require being entertained, but he needs to be challenged, and he doesn’t want to be talked down to. Ensure the activities and assignments do more than just measure memorization of material.
You can over and over again find the focused learned does not want to write responses out or record all the steps used to solve a math or science problem. If you can’t show him why these requirements are a valuable use of his time, especially when the answers are immediately obvious to him, don’t expect him to ever see this as more than busy work.
Don’t be uncertain in letting him jump several levels ahead in a subject area of great interest and strength. Think mentors. This learner often doesn’t enjoy working in groups or on teams unless others are as focused as he is. Excluding he does respect and enjoy adult mentors with expertise in his areas of interest. Often the adult finds it quite rewarding to work with a young person who is motivated and enthusiastic.
While a tutor may seem a big step for an elementary student, participation in an organization or club for his interest is another way to cultivate informal mentoring. There are some home school students who joined hobbyist clubs before their teens. Although this was strange, the adults readily accepted them once they saw their seriousness and focused interest.
Finally, help this learner develop his interpersonal skills if they are weak. Helping in children’s ministry at church or volunteering at a local service organization might work well. It is important that we as parents design a program that allows each child to cultivate his gifts and talents, while at the same time addressing strategically the areas of weakness in character and skill - all for the ultimate purpose of laying a sure foundation for fulfilling each ones unique calling in the Lord.
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