Call me naïve if you want, but I believe that all of our children want to learn. We’re all born with some level of curiosity. Adults must engage that curiosity so that children can grow into lifetime learners. I support the homeschooling movement, so I’m not one to put the full responsibility of teaching children onto teachers. I believe it’s also the responsibility of parents. It’s parents who have the first opportunity to spark curiosity, and to encourage a succession of whys that can make learning interesting and, in more cases than not, lead children on to success in whatever way they choose to define it. Realistically, this is a joint effort. We parents need to pick up some of the slack, and get kids to understand that the need to know why is crucial to learning and building a better future, not just for them; that same curiosity can affect growth and change all around.
I’m just finishing Tony Wagner’s book The Global Achievement Gap: Why even our best schools don’t teach the new survival skills our children need and what we can do about it. I’m going to show here, and in future posts, how the points he makes relate to the Microbook, Decisions Shape Destiny:Wisdom for Teens and Young Adults. Without a doubt, Wagner's book is important for adults to read, especially educators and school administrators. On the other hand, the Microbook offers condensed life lessons, on similar topics for the busy teen or young adult.
From the start, Wagner identifies seven survival skills our children will need for the new world of work. He begins with critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Workers, for the most part, used to be expected to do no more than the same thing all day, every day, year after year. Most employers in the new workforce are set to get rid of old industrialized ideas about work. Today, they’re requiring that employees know how to think on their feet and are able to adapt to new and evolving situations. The new workforce will require flexibility and skills in self-management and personal responsibility, which go hand in hand with critical thinking and good decision making. It's important for parents to take the lead in making sure children are capable of building a future for themselves that they can be proud of, a future where they’re able to achieve all their goals. Sure, there are some from my generation, myself included, who weren't taught how to make good decisions. Unfortunately, we often learned from trial and error. Young people today really don't have that luxury. We no longer live in times when bouncing back from a bad decision is easy. In some cases, the wrong decision can ruin a young person's life long before they're mature enough to wrap their mind around the long-term consequences.
In terms of leadership, of course schools will always showcase a few students with the ability, and that’s great, but I think there are potential leaders being left in the shadows, whose talents are not being recognized for a number of reasons. Now, when we prepare all our children for the challenge of personal leadership first, then we just may end up with a larger and more diverse pool of leaders to choose from overall. We need more potential leaders to be brought up to take a place in history. Guess what? Leadership skills are not exclusive to any group. I might add that there’s no reason they should be to a particular family or social-economic class. Some would argue that such a one-dimensional way of thinking is responsible for our current leadership crisis. That being said, critical thinking is a good skill for our young people to develop for when they're old enough to vote. When they head for the voting booth, it can help them base their choices on more than nice words and popularity, and on the true substance of a candidate. The bottom line is that progress, whether social, political, or economic, is fueled by change. It's fueled by different ways of thinking through a problem. Parents shouldn't lay the responsibility of teaching these skills on schools because, frankly, maybe they will, and maybe they won't, but there comes a time in each life when critical thinking, or the lack of it, can make or break anyone’s future.
To encourage critical thinking, parents should make time to discuss (and even debate) with their children on events happening, not just in our country, but around the world. Right now, world news is at everybody's fingertips. Most of it's delivered in sound bites, which take only a few seconds to digest, so there’s no excuse for adults to not be current on topics other than what celebrities are doing. Discussing current events with your children helps them understand that the world is bigger than their neighborhood, and can lead them to have a more global perspective about life in general. For little ones, we can ask questions about the books we read to them. Ask about the choices the characters make within a story. Get them to think about what they might do under the same or similar circumstances. As parents, we must encourage our children to be inquisitive and to challenge themselves, even if no one else does. They should be taught to take personal responsibility for what they learn and to not be afraid to ask how or why, of course not in a defiant, or a disrespectful way, but with curiosity.
Critical thinking inspires an entrepreneurial spirit. Multi-billion dollar companies, nowadays, are formed around simple ideas. Because most of these companies involve digital technology, they may only require a small amount of money to start up. Looking forward, some economists believe that self-employment may become the new normal for the job market. So, our kids must be trained to think like innovators. They should become skilled at planning, setting goals, turning an idea into reality, or perhaps more importantly, turning it into income. Self-reliance is the key to unlock the potential of all our children and not leave any behind. At this point, in our collective history, there's no denying that we're in need of innovative leaders who can tackle the ills of society with a fresh approach. The promise of real change is in our children. The dream will always be in our children. They do have what it takes if we just allow them a chance. One of the first steps for parents and teachers is to instill in them the power of curiosity and ideas. If we can just do that for them, even if they fall short, at least we can be assured they will, definitely, have the skills needed to manage their own lives as adults.
[1] According to geographic.org (2015)
[2] Tony Wagner. The Global Achievement Gap. New York: Basic Books, 2008
© 2015 Diane Coleman. No part of the above work may be reproduced, reposted for any website, or print publication, without prior permission.
Looking for Love: How to Avoid Relationships that Might
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