Teaching has been in our lives for centuries. Teachers and school are a part of our daily life. Even though most people think that teaching at school is the most efficient way of learning, I don’t agree with this idea. We don’t need some teacher in our life to gain knowledge, we can do this by socializing as well. This type of learning is called social learning, and it has to do with the people around you. Because humans are such social beings, social learning is an important skill. For example, you do not have to figure everything out on your own, because you learn from other people’s mistakes and successes. Also, social learning can enable you to get to know others better, and therefore to better understand how to behave around them. Such social learning skills help you to have good relationships with others, which is good for your well-being. Now let’s take a closer look at how social learning works.
When you learn something new your brain automatically updates the old knowledge. If you make a wrong decision your brain gives a prediction error. Your brain notes this prediction error and makes sure you learn from it, updating what you already know with the new information. To make all the calculations necessary for social learning, several areas of your brain are used. Scientists have discovered at least two brain areas that are important for social learning, called the ventral striatum and the medial prefrontal cortex. The ventral striatum is an area in the middle of the brain that you use when you make decisions, when you enjoy something, and when something is rewarding. The mPFC is an area in the front of the brain that seems particularly important for thinking about what others are thinking, and for making decisions that involve other people and that’s how social learning works on our brain.
To come to a conclusion on the opinion “Not everyone does need one to teach them new things. One that really wants to learn, does indeed learn without one to teach them.” I do not agree with this because you always need a source to learn from. It does not always need to be teaching. Even learning from books uses someone’s knowledge and transfers it to you. Most important sources around you are actually people you see daily. Their decision affects your future decision on life. You don’t learn life from some teachers or books, you learn it by being social. By facing difficulties in life and overcoming them. By doing this, as time passes your knowledge increases. That’s why elderly people say they have experienced life, because they learned life.