7 ms·

Kids should learn to think

44 points by nielssj 14y ago

lucidguppy 14y ago
I'm getting tired of these threads. Kids should be taught how to learn. Teach persistence and bravery in face of failure. (US schools have taught the EXACT opposite - perfectionism and fear of failure). This was why liberal arts were just fine degrees back in the day when standards were much higher. Take the profit out of education - it's a human right.
Tzunamitom 14y ago
More importantly, kids should learn to learn from everything. Too often I work with kids or young adults that hate school, but after a little discussion, discover that they actually really love learning. If the education system is not meeting their needs, they should be empowered to take education into their own hands.
jseliger 14y ago
Everyone should learn to think. But the basic problem is that critical thinking can't be divorced from specific content areas—in other words, you have to teach it through drawing, or coding, or Sonnets, or whatever. It is also, quite simply, hard to teach. That's Daniel Wilingham's research speaking; he describes more here: http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/summer2007/Crit_Thinking.pdf http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/summer2007/Crit_Thi... . His book Why Don't Students Like School? is also very good. I wrote about it here: http://jseliger.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/why-dont-students-like-school-daniel-t-willingham/ http://jseliger.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/why-dont-students-l... .
demian 14y ago
"Right Brain" people stil believe in the dichotomy of "creative" people and "non-creative" people (they still use the outdate terms "Right Brain" and "Left Brain"), probably because they associate technical work with mental computations and algebraic manipulation ("doing math"). It's true that technical people will are already less burdened by the heavy lifting of "doing math" or organizing complex technical systems, but that doesn't mean that they are going to be "replaced" by the "artists". It only means that the "soft-technical" aspect of, for example, engineering, is going to be more present (less time focusing on technical details and more on the design and articulation of the mathematical models themselves).
rikacomet 14y ago
After reading 3 articles: - Kids should learn to Code - Kids should learn to Farm not Code - And now, Kids should learn to think I want to say, yes they are very noble causes, each with its benefit, but what really matters is: Adults should learn to let Kids Live. What I say does not mean that kids should go uneducated, but its rather, Kids should have choices, and we should not impose them to take 'X' no of choices. The stress is growing on kids, and true, they are becoming smarter, and the planet is growing faster, it does have a terrible cost: Childhood.
vanderZwan 14y ago
"Machines should work, People should think." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IZw2CoYztk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IZw2CoYztk
tlrobinson 14y ago
In my mind, in addition to teaching fundamental skills like reading and writing, the purpose of K-12 school is to expose kids to a bunch of different subjects so that hopefully they'll find something they're passionate about. So yeah, every kid should (try to) learn to draw and code and everything else we can reasonably expose them to.
- InclinedPlane 14y ago
  If only it worked that way. I think in practice it works by exposing kids to a significant amount of drudgery and pain associated with a bunch of different subjects to cause kids to pretty much hate learning in general. It's a wonder that anyone manages to survive K-12 education with any degree of passion for learning intact. P.S. http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2112 http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2112 P.P.S. From a lot of different people I've heard the same story of having a hard time re-engaging in learning and especially reading after coming out of formal education. A lot of people have an aversion to the books and authors they studied in school, and often to reading in general. It seems to typically take several years for people to (re)develop an individual passion for reading and to be open to reading those authors again, though some people seem to never get past that aversion.
kdazzle 14y ago
Kids should learn to swear in 32 different languages.
tiger10guy 14y ago
Related thoughts on education... from CGP Grey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_830833&feature=iv&src_vid=AqwJXTyfNqU&v=7vsCAM17O-M http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_830833... Also watch Greys favorites vol 4 (playlist on CGP Grey channel). These thoughts from Salman Khan are most relevant here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiKrFcgVSIU&list=PLgE-9Sxs2IBVEoz0MkIzcUmFkXWpmw2zo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiKrFcgVSIU&list=PLgE-9Sx...

44 points by nielssj 14y ago

I'm getting tired of these threads. Kids should be taught how to learn. Teach persistence and bravery in face of failure. (US schools have taught the EXACT opposite - perfectionism and fear of failure). This was why liberal arts were just fine degrees back in the day when standards were much higher. Take the profit out of education - it's a human right.

Tzunamitom 14y ago

More importantly, kids should learn to learn from everything. Too often I work with kids or young adults that hate school, but after a little discussion, discover that they actually really love learning. If the education system is not meeting their needs, they should be empowered to take education into their own hands.

jseliger 14y ago

Everyone should learn to think. But the basic problem is that critical thinking can't be divorced from specific content areas—in other words, you have to teach it through drawing, or coding, or Sonnets, or whatever. It is also, quite simply, hard to teach. That's Daniel Wilingham's research speaking; he describes more here: http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/summer2007/Crit_Thinking.pdf http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/summer2007/Crit_Thi... . His book Why Don't Students Like School? is also very good. I wrote about it here: http://jseliger.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/why-dont-students-like-school-daniel-t-willingham/ http://jseliger.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/why-dont-students-l... .

demian 14y ago

"Right Brain" people stil believe in the dichotomy of "creative" people and "non-creative" people (they still use the outdate terms "Right Brain" and "Left Brain"), probably because they associate technical work with mental computations and algebraic manipulation ("doing math"). It's true that technical people will are already less burdened by the heavy lifting of "doing math" or organizing complex technical systems, but that doesn't mean that they are going to be "replaced" by the "artists". It only means that the "soft-technical" aspect of, for example, engineering, is going to be more present (less time focusing on technical details and more on the design and articulation of the mathematical models themselves).

rikacomet 14y ago

After reading 3 articles: - Kids should learn to Code - Kids should learn to Farm not Code - And now, Kids should learn to think I want to say, yes they are very noble causes, each with its benefit, but what really matters is: Adults should learn to let Kids Live. What I say does not mean that kids should go uneducated, but its rather, Kids should have choices, and we should not impose them to take 'X' no of choices. The stress is growing on kids, and true, they are becoming smarter, and the planet is growing faster, it does have a terrible cost: Childhood.

vanderZwan 14y ago

"Machines should work, People should think." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IZw2CoYztk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IZw2CoYztk

tlrobinson 14y ago

In my mind, in addition to teaching fundamental skills like reading and writing, the purpose of K-12 school is to expose kids to a bunch of different subjects so that hopefully they'll find something they're passionate about. So yeah, every kid should (try to) learn to draw and code and everything else we can reasonably expose them to.

InclinedPlane 14y ago
If only it worked that way. I think in practice it works by exposing kids to a significant amount of drudgery and pain associated with a bunch of different subjects to cause kids to pretty much hate learning in general. It's a wonder that anyone manages to survive K-12 education with any degree of passion for learning intact. P.S. http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2112 http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2112 P.P.S. From a lot of different people I've heard the same story of having a hard time re-engaging in learning and especially reading after coming out of formal education. A lot of people have an aversion to the books and authors they studied in school, and often to reading in general. It seems to typically take several years for people to (re)develop an individual passion for reading and to be open to reading those authors again, though some people seem to never get past that aversion.

kdazzle 14y ago

Kids should learn to swear in 32 different languages.

tiger10guy 14y ago

Related thoughts on education... from CGP Grey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_830833&feature=iv&src_vid=AqwJXTyfNqU&v=7vsCAM17O-M http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_830833... Also watch Greys favorites vol 4 (playlist on CGP Grey channel). These thoughts from Salman Khan are most relevant here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiKrFcgVSIU&list=PLgE-9Sxs2IBVEoz0MkIzcUmFkXWpmw2zo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiKrFcgVSIU&list=PLgE-9Sx...