For this assignment I decided to research the correlation between learning and the home environment. Growing up in a home environment that was very accomdiating and encouraging to my learning needs I wanted to do this research to better understand what it would be like for a child with a home environment that was not supportive. There are many factors that make a difference in a child's ability to learn but I have realized that their home environment plays the biggest factor. Children being able to have access to learning manipulatives outside of school is so important! Items such as books, puzzles, magazines, pictures, journals, and music. Also having opportunities to participate in hobbies and experience museums, ballets, and concerts. All of this plays such an important factor to a child being excited to learn and encouraged to learn. Sadly many children in the United States do not have all the opportunities to grow and learn as some of their other classmates may. Even looking at my own family I have been able to see that we have been more successful in school because of a more supportive home environment then alot of my peers. Children already come to school with their own schema of the world which was learned in their home from their parents and family. Environmental factors do account for a child's success in school! This article and a few more that I looked at were very interesting and gave me a different perspective of the factors that influence a child's ability to learn.
http://www.jstor.org/sici?sici=0040-5841(197206)11%3A3%3C190%3ATHEAAP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-J&cookieSet=1