The Psychology of Education

Firstly, people do not want to learn. They want to be given things (privilege). Therefore, they naturally assume you’re giving them bad information and want to do the opposite because they believe they can “handle” the “danger.” So if you tell kids not to smoke, they’ll smoke. You tell them not to do drugs, and they do drugs. You tell them sex is positive, and they have shame about it.

Secondly, people respect authority and are bound to emotion. If you don’t activate your students’ right brains, or you focus on their right brains without focusing on their left brains, they will instantly forget what you teach (it will go in one ear and out the other). Additionally, you should put “Dr.” before your name even if you have only a PhD but not an MD, because people will naturally assume you’re a more valuable person and therefore what you tell them is more important than someone who has “Mr.” instead of “Dr.” before his name.

Thirdly, people learn best in chunks, not blocks. Instead of having 5 separate 1-hour classes, it would be better to have 25 separate 12-minute classes in alternating classrooms with a change of rooms each time. That way, boys can sit next to the girls they like, there’s no need for physical education because it’s integrated into the changing of classrooms, and students will be much more likely to remember the gist of the curriculum.