BRAIN PLASTICITY, THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ATTACHMENTS AND SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LITERACY IN LEARNING
PLASTICITY IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE BRAIN:
Brain plasticity: the brain is not something static, that does not change or is transformed; quite the opposite. A human being has
the ability to assume significant management of what happens in his o her brain. What has been recorded, can be replaced by
something better. This requires purpose, commitment, perseverance, practice and time. (Visit www.arrowsmithschool.org; read
the book The Brain that Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge).
-Childhood, up to 3 years of age, maximum creation of neurons and structuring
-Pre-Adolescence (11-14 years), the brain undergoes a pruning of neurons and of unneeded synapses. This means, that, at this
stage, pre-teens, besides the physiological and hormonal changes, temporarily, suffer a decline in impulse control.
-Adulthood (25-30 years of age), the brain reaches its full development, being the prefrontal lobes, right and left, the last parts
of the brain to develop. The prefrontal lobes is what differentiate us from lower animal especies.
-Whenever we learn something new, the brain creates new neurons and synapses.
-Respect the brain, that which is not used will be lost; this plastic capacity of the brain allows us to change our habits, customs,
ways of being or of thinking. The brain can over-imprint that previously registered. These processes are not instantaneous.
Such require time and persistence. Other parts of the brain can be trained to assume faculties lost due to injuries.
EMOTIONS AND THEIR REGULATION:
-Types of emotions: sadness, love-hate, anger-understanding, tranquility-lack of tranquility, etc.
-What we perceive as emotions mainly corresponds to electrical and chemical signals that amygdala (glands, brain) send
through neural connections to the right frontal lobe.
-The control of emotions and the development of executive functions, corresponds to the use of the left frontal lobe for the
recognition, understanding and identification of the properties of emotions in the right frontal lobe. It places a person in the
“driver’s seat.” The left frontal lobe sends a signal to the amygdalas to begin to defuse the emotion.
-When the emotions generate spontaneous bodily responses, it is due to the engagement of the sympathetic system brain.
-All persons have the ability to regulate their emotions through the relationship that the left prefrontal lobe enjoys with
cerebral parasympathetic system. Muscles also have the ability to soothe bodily reactions by activation of the parasympathetic
brain system. Deep voluntary and purposeful breathing, for example, calm emotional states, and allows us to be able to think
calmly, and to consider the greater of self and others.
PRIMARY ATTACHMENTS: MOTHER - SON
-Attachment begins in the womb: emotions are physiological chemical changes induced by hormonal glands. Since the fetus
depends on the blood of the mother, the emotional states of the mother are those of the unborn. The brain contains types of
mirror neurons that allow this imitation. There is no differentiation.
Primary attachments:
-because of mirror neurons, the baby mimics and internalizes (copy) spontaneously the moods and emotions of the mother.
When the mother smiles, the baby smiles, when the mother is sad, baby suffers sadness. Babies send their own messages for
attention to their needs to the mother (and father).
-The baby develops its ability to interact, explore and learn through interaction (stimulation) with the mother (play-time,
necessary care, stories, dialog, social and emotional literacy).
Influence of primary attachments:
-that internalized works as a filter type of appreciation of self, others and life, in other words, the personality of the
child/youth/adult.
-influence on the ability to establish attachments or bonds with others.
Primary attachments are evidenced in the emotional states, personality and character of the child/youth/adult.
Due to the plastic capacity of the brain, it is possible to repair the consequences of unhealthy primary attachments later in life.
The therapeutic use of the left prefrontal lobe, above all, and its interconnectedness with other parts of the brain, can
transform the character, personality and improve the emotional health of individuals, families and groups.
THE FAMILY ENVIRONMENT
The family environment is the result of its members’ inoculation of each other. Adults, particularly parents, are those who
inoculated children.
Since we primarily learn by imitation (mirror neurons), we spontaneously imitate and internalize the qualities and defects in
our parents.
When parents are good enough in handling their emotions and their relationship between them and other people, children
would emulate and internalize good enough qualities.
Parents have the potential to repair emotional disturbances at home, by regulating their emotions and quality of interpersonal
relationship.
THE STUDENT - TEACHER RELATIONSHIP
The role of teachers (and maternal/maternal figures) is of great importance in the life of students, since students can develop
a bond with teachers that can help them repair that internalized from the not-enough-good attachment with parents, for
example.
The best and most effective teachers are those who demonstrate their ability to cope with life and its challenges with a sense
of responsibility, compassion and love for the neighbor to students.
GROUP ATTACHMENT
Human beings are social beings.
A young man may want to be part of a group for good and not so good reasons.
Young people who join groups or friends who are not good, usually do so because of emotional pain. Young people can find in a
group that which they do not feel or receive at home.
This is one of the reasons why Family Charters are important.
FAMILY CHARTERS
Family Charters can be a wake-up call for parents to understand why their children do not feel respected, appreciated,
considered, comfortable and safe in the home environment, to make the necessary changes in their lives as parents.
EMPATHY IN THE FAMILY AND SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN NWP
It could be the case that parents, due to the quality of primary attachment that characterizes them, do not understand or
understand or identify the emotions in their children.
It is very likely that such parents have developed their social and emotional literacy and therefore, their children may feel
misunderstood or hurt. Once parents learn to recognize and regulate their moods and emotions, they begin to recognize,
understand, label, express and regulate their children’s emotions.
Good enough parents are those who have developed the ability to recognize, understand, label, express and regulate their
emotions in themselves, with each other and their children.
The programme for the development of Social and Emotional Literacy in New World Preparatory School contemplates the
welfare of the student as a result of the improvement of the Social and Emotional Literacy of his family.
As a Middle School, we have three years to help you, and as a consequence, optimize the quality of life, develop the learning
capacity and ensure the future of your child.