Relational Learning

We learn in different ways.  Some of us are visual learners, some are auditory and some of us learn kinesthetically.  My son, who is an elementary school teacher, came up with a categorization that he calls relational learning.  His premise is that learning may be partly dependent on who is doing the teaching.  When a parent or close family member attempts to instruct in a basic skill, it doesn’t always work yet when someone else steps in, the result can be quite different.  Many years ago I asked my husband to share his proficiency in photography — and the harder he tried to show me, the more I ended up frustrated and in tears.  My son’s daughter struggled with learning to ride a bike until someone other than her parents assisted as the back-of-bike holder.  My mother made me absolutely crazy, trying to teach me to drive — yet my sister’s boyfriend took me out to practice behind the wheel and it was a snap.  I don’t think those are particularly isolated experiences. Why is it often so difficult to learn from the people who love us the most?