Creating a Healthy Learning Environment – September 10, 2000
The notable American plant breeder Luther Burbank believed that desirable traits could be cultivated in children, just as they are in plants. Over the years, he demonstrated that if the right environment is created for breeding certain qualities into plants, the plants will naturally respond. In much the same way, he assured parents that, if they created the right environment at home, their children would respond more favorably to instruction.1
At one point during his career, Luther Burbank was faced with the challenge of developing a spineless cactus. His unusual methods included talking to the cacti in a caring manner. He told them they had nothing to fear, that he would protect them from harm, and that they didn’t need defensive thorns. As strange as it may sound, after years of experimenting with cacti—all the while kindly instructing them—he finally met with success. A new and more useful cactus was created.2
Although there’s no scientific proof that a warm chat with a cactus can eliminate thorns, the implications for teaching children are clearly evident. Experience has shown that, whenever parents communicate with children in a gentle way, children lower their defenses and are more willing to listen. Comfortable conversations about important life issues can work wonders in building character and bringing families closer together. External surroundings are not as important as the emotional climate parents create.
Even the most ordinary activities can become teaching moments in an atmosphere built on trust. An ice cream parlor makes an exciting final destination when a daddy is really just looking for an excuse to go for a drive with his daughter and talk for a while. Formal lessons take a back seat to the powerful example of someone who really cares. Under these conditions, positive character traits are automatically transferred to children whose hearts are wide open.
When children make mistakes, parents are obligated to step in and provide correction. A soothing tone of voice from a wise parent can have a cooling effect on children who require instruction in the heat of an emotional moment. Far more helpful than dwelling on faults is building children’s knowledge that, no matter what they may have done, they’re always loved. How comforting to understand that mistakes of the moment will never drive away their parents’ affection throughout the years.
Growing in the sunshine of parental love helps children mature and bear fruit indescribably sweet. In such an environment, they get the message that they have nothing to fear, that they are protected from harm, and that they don’t need defensive thorns.
Program #3708
Alexander Stopa
1. See The Training of the Human Plant (New York: The Century Co., 1916), 13, 47-48.
2. See Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, The Secret Life of Plants (New York: Harper and Row, 1973), 133.