Cognitive Skills Development

The word “cognition” is defined as “the act of knowing” or “knowledge.” Cognitive skills therefore refer to those skills that make it possible for us to know.

It should be noted that there is nothing that any human being knows, or can do, that he has not learned. This of course excludes natural body functions, such as breathing, as well as the reflexes, for example the involuntary closing of the eye when an object approaches it. But apart from that a human being knows nothing, or cannot do anything, that he has not learned. Therefore, all cognitive skills must be taught.

One very often encounters the expression “cognitive skills development” when referring to the child's acquisition of cognitive skills. By this expression it is often intended to imply that the child's acquisition of cognitive skills is an automatic process. This, however, is a completely misguided idea. Cognitive skills development should not imply that it is an innate process or that the child's cognitive skills grow by themselves as the child's physical body grows. In fact, his body will also not grow if the child is not fed regularly. Even physical growth then, does not happen by itself.