As someone who is a firm believer in social learning, and someone who loves to talk, I found a lot of the information in Chapter 4 to be interesting, but not too surprising. Engaging in conversation about a topic of study, not just the topic of science, reinforces one’s memory on the topic through exercise of auditory and oratorical skills. It didn’t surprise me that parents who bring their children to museums, and don’t merely let them loose to explore on their own, helped their children learn more about the exhibits. In my family, I’m the one who drags my parents and brother to museums, but discussing exhibits, pointing out salient details, and identifying why a certain painting resonates with one of us or talking about a cool fact about whales serve to encourage learning in both me and my brother—the children—and our parents.

Surrounded by Science also makes  good point about how too much parental involvement and guidance limits learning. Parental participation that inhibits child participation prevents the child from engaging in the learning process. In the past, whenever I tutored my younger brother or did an activity like putting a puzzle together, and I knew the answer or figured out how to tackle the activity before he did, I immediately hinted at the answer to the question in his homework or did what had to be done. Instead of guiding him and encouraging him to think about the problem and arrive at the solution or find the matching puzzle piece on his own, I did the work. In doing so, I took away his opportunity to think critically and learn from whatever he should have been doing. Sorry, Evan! I realize now, that as his older sister who has had a few more years of schooling and whose interests and area of knowledge differ from his, I have a responsibility to encourage and guide his learning experience, not take it away from him.