Using the Brain a Lifelong Challenge

Congratulations to The Times are in order for your outstanding series, “The Brain: A Work in Progress” (Oct. 13-16).

The Ventura County superintendent of schools office also recognizes the significance the latest research on brain function has on education. In the past six months, two nationally recognized experts in the field of brain function and lifelong learning have addressed teachers and administrators in Ventura County. The talks--by Dr. Robert Sylwester of the University of Oregon and Dr. Arnold Scheibel of UCLA--have been stimulating and thought-provoking at a variety of levels.

As educators, we learned the latest theories on how a child processes ideas and turns those ideas into memory--theories that can have practical implications on everyday classroom teaching techniques.

As parents, we learned what we always knew through our parental sixth sense: Those early years are the most critical to a child’s ability and willingness to learn. The richer and more varied the environment, the more inquisitive and, perhaps, the more intelligent our children will be.

Finally, as adults, we learned that a lifetime of learning is indeed that--a lifetime. It doesn’t matter if we’re 30 or 60, if we allow our lives to become as stagnant as that of a baby left in a dark room with no toys or other stimulus, we will suffer the same fate as that unfortunate infant--a withering of the brain’s synapses and of our very soul. The need for new challenges, the need to learn, never goes away.

May we all take these lessons and enjoy a lifetime of learning.

CHARLES WEIS, PhD

County superintendent of schools

Camarillo