One of the most interesting discussions about human development, for me, is the question of nature versus nurture.
- How does the natural world and our biology shape our growth?
- How do cultural and human-made constructs influence our individual development?
- How much impact does each of these have on individual and overall human progress?
Being a people-watcher most of my life—well, as far back as I can remember—I have always been fascinated by this interplay between nature and nurture. Today, I simply call it being an “observer.”
Another idea that joins this discussion is the self-construction of the human being.
Our individual self-construction depends on the interaction between nature and nurture. Where and when we are born, along with the people, ideas, tools, and places that surround us, affect the choices we make.
As a teacher, I realized early on that I might be able to offer tools and ideas, but it was the student who made the choice to use those tools and ideas for their own learning.
Learning and growth in the individual occur through the natural process of self-construction and autodidactic (self-chosen and self-taught) activity.
As a student, I saw that the skills and knowledge I acquired, along with my personal satisfaction, were built on the choices I made about how I spent my time, where I spent my time, and with whom I spent it.
My learning was autodidactic, which I believe is true for each of us.
With the choices we make every day, we are building a human being.
This dance between our innate biology and our environment influences the choices we see and act upon.
As we travel along the path of human development, we will all come face-to-face with obstacles.
In my experience, our ability to overcome those obstacles depends on the choices, skills, and knowledge we have acquired, along with the people in our lives.
As a teacher, I have seen my main job as helping my students find a way around their obstacles.
If a child is having difficulty learning to read, my first question is: What is this obstacle telling me about the child’s development and the relationship between this child and the environment?
The obstacle is a visible indication of a lack of organization and integration of something not yet fully constructed within the child.
My goal as a teacher—whether working with children or adults—is to help them develop the capacity to organize themselves, recognize their obstacles, and figure out how to get around those obstacles, through them, over them, or knock them down.
Whatever it takes!
The human capacity to choose and act becomes the defining element of nature in the debate of nature versus nurture.
The nature of a human being is to self-construct a human being of their time and place.
The environment—people, ideas, tools, and place—in which this self-construction occurs determines the nurture in human development.
Each of us is building a human being.
Our growth is shaped by the development of free choice within an environment that offers positive interactions with people, tools, and ideas.
Our learning environments depend on the culture into which we are born and in which we live.
Our nature is to self-construct a human being of our time and place.
We are nurtured within this time and place, which forms our environment.
As adults, our job is to prepare a positive environment for our children.
Nature versus nurture.
Perhaps there is no distinction after all, because we are building ourselves.
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