You don’t need to be a learning theorist to understand the power of role modelling. All you need to do is observe children or in this instance a couple of brothers to see how a younger brother strives to model or imitate what his older brother is doing. Every time I look at this picture I flashback to a time when I can hear my younger son’s first phrase “Me Too” because he wanted to do what his older brother was doing. In this picture, his older brother was observing construction workers who were on a break and leaning up against their vehicles or shovels. No one has to teach these boys how to imitate what they saw, it is just part of their human nature.
This is a powerful learning tool that we too quickly forget about or simply ignore in our systems of education. If there is one positive thing we can take away from Facebook, Instagram and other social media is the fact that we never really grow out of wanting to be like someone else that we admire or that has influence.
The power of Me Too is everywhere and we would be well advised to leverage this power in our learning environments. This is just one more example that confirms that values, beliefs, and norms are caught not taught.
