by J.A. Ginsburg

On links between empathy & civilization, IQ & EQ, young children and why “I See I Learn” books work

When a baby first opens her eyes onto the world, not only does she begin to take in visual information, she uses it. Smile and she will try to smile, too. Stick out your tongue and she will stick hers out right back. By two months, she is so good at sorting visual information, she has a “memory picture” of her Mother and is able to tell her apart from all other women. By age one, she begins to recognize graphic imagery. And by age three, crayons in hand, she is busily giving Picasso a run for his money.

We are natural born visual learners. Remarkably, almost the entire human brain is devoted either directly to vision, or tied into it in some way. Although the loss of any of our senses would be devastating, vision, by far, is our dominant sense, integral to how we learn to function in the world and how we learn to interact with others.

So rooted is sight in our experience, we say, “Seeing is believing.” But it is even more than that. Through a system anchored by a web of special nerve cells called mirror neurons, seeing is intricately connected to feeling, to empathy. It allows us to imagine what it is is like be in someone else’s shoes, anticipate consequences and work together in groups.

“We are apparently ’softwired,’” notes author Jeremy Rifkin. “If I am observing you – your anger, your sense of  frustration, your joy, whatever it is – I can feel what you’re doing. The same neurons will light up in me as if I am having the experience myself.”

In a suitably and brilliantly visual manner, Rifkin goes on to explain in this video that, “…research suggests that we are not softwired not for aggression, violence, self-interest and utilitarianism. We are actually softwired for attachment, sociability, affection, companionship. The first drive is actually the drive to belong. It’s an empathic drive.”

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IQ & EQ

Notably, at about the same age our example child is starting to express herself through drawings, the development of her mirror neuron circuitry is hitting critical mass and she is starting to feel the first stirrings of empathy as well. This is the beginning of prime “teachable moment” for social and emotional skills.

It is also the time when parents and teachers often see the first signs of autism in children. This is no mere coincidence.  According to a 2005 study published “Nature: Neuroscience,” UCLA researchers discovered that children with autism had malfunctioning mirror neuron systems. When autistic children were shown photographs of people displaying different emotions, they were able to accurately identify the emotions verbally, but their mirror neurons failed to fire. The children also showed reduced activity in areas of the brain associated with emotion. Over the last five years, this has been a hot area of study, with indications that early intervention can help some children on the autism disorder spectrum develop the neurobiological wiring they otherwise lack.

Mirror neurons are at the intersection of IQ and what’s called “EQ” – a measure of emotional intelligence.

The ramifications go beyond understanding autism, to understanding the foundations of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).  Although we know it is important to help prepare young children for school – and for life – by teaching them the alphabet, how to count (along with other early math skills), and by reading together with them, the common assumption is that SEL skills are intuitive and don’t require any special nurturing.

Wrong.

Not only are SEL skills just as critical as academic skills, children with good SEL skills do better in school. Academic achievement and SEL “smarts” go hand in hand. In survey after survey, kindergarten and first grade teachers note that unless children know how to control their emotions, taking turns and work together in groups, it is almost impossible to teach them anything. EQ improves IQ.

Psychologist Roger Weissberg, a found director of CASEL, Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning at the University of Illinois at Chicago, points out that children with good SEL skills are better able to overcome obstacles, which translates into a sort of “academic tenacity”: They have the confidence to know that eventually they can succeed. Likewise, children with good self-control are less likely to get into fights or do drugs:

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I SEE I LEARN BOOKS

Stuart’s new I See I Learn series is designed to build on this natural fit between visual learning and young children, combining simple stories with illustrations that draw on various visual learning strategies. Although each story focuses on one of  four domains – Social skills, Emotional skills, Heath and Safety skills and Cognitive skills – there is a little of each in every book.  At this early stage in life, when all the “wiring” is starting to come together, the boundaries between IQ and EQ skills blur: It is all of a piece.

“Freda Plans a Picnic,” for example, is a book about sequencing, a cognitive skills. The picnic itself – a gathering of friends – is a social event. “Percy Plays It Safe” focuses on playground safety, but playing successfully in a group requires self-regulation, an emotional skill.

Each book also includes a special two-page section called “A Closer Look,” which combines a visual summary of the story’s key learning points, along with several questions to help parents / teachers / caregivers extend the learning beyond the book and into daily life.

The first four I See I Learn books will begin shipping to book stores and libraries in July. For Pre-orders & email alerts write to orders@charlesbridge.com, or call 800.225.3214

Booksellers & Librarians: ISIL books are available through Baker & Taylor, Ingram and, of course, all your favorite local wholesalers, too!

Stuart J. Murphy's "I See I Learn" books available in bookstores and libraries beginning in July!

RELATED READING / VIEWING / RESOURCES / NOTES

• “The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis” by Jeremy Rifkin (book website)

• “‘The Empathic Civilization’: Rethinking Human Nature in the Biosphere Era” by Jeremy Rifkin / Huffington Post

• “The Mirror Neuron Revolution: Explaining What Makes Humans Social” interview with neuroscientist Marco Iacoboni / Scientific American

• CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning at the University of Illinois at Chicago

• “EQ Meets IQ: An Interview with Roger Weissberg” / Edutopia (video)

• “Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman (book)

• “Social Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman (book)

• “Nobody Likes Me, Everybody Hates Me: The Top 25 Friendship Problems and How to Solve Them” by Michele Borba (book)

If you're in Bologna... San Vitale 98/b

Nuts? That’s what Jeremy Rifkin says a scientist was nibbling when the brain activity of a macaque watching the scientist – while wired to an MRI – triggered a burst of static on a computer, which led to the discovery of mirror neurons. Others say it was  ice-cream, which, of course, was probably gelato, since the lab was in Parma, Italy. In his book, Mirroring People, neuroscientist Marco Iacobani says Vittorio Gallese, the researcher, actually doesn’t remember what he was eating. Personally, I like the gelato option. M’mmmm. I am at Gelatauro in Bologna on a late spring day, sitting in the little courtyard with a two-euro cup of heaven: pistachio, pumpkin spice and ginger gelato. Ah that zenzero! I can see it! I can just about taste it! How about you? Are your mirror neurons firing yet?