Kids are natural searchers.

We all are really except kids have not given up!

They are curious about EVERYTHING and with any luck our over- teaching strategies will not kill that. They are not frightened of being wrong but we quickly change this when they
come to school.l.

I want to awaken curiosity and encourage children to think and take risks.

In fact that is what my programs are designed to do. I want to wake up their brains- not put them to sleep!  Read this very sad piece of writing I was given from a young child after the holidays. She was crying as she handed it to me!

I will translate: “All my imagination has to be locked up. I feel sad about this. Because school has started again. There is no time to imagine any more!”

What a perceptive child!

We need to stop giving answers to questions that are not being asked and concentrate on stimulating yet more questions- questions that MATTER to children!

As teachers we need to ask more questions about practices we blindly follow rather than consider more child-friendly alternatives.

We also need to control the amount of time spent on digital devices because they STOP thinking. Yes- they DO and all parents and children know that. I now have high-school kids coming to me for coaching about HOW they can break their addiction. These kids tell me they cannot think, lose sleep because they find the devices no matter WHERE their parents hide them and generally CANNOT academically succeed.

I couldn’t care less about wonky figures from researchers claiming to show kids only use devices for 4 instead of 6 hours per day- anything more than 2 hours is OUT as far as I’m concerned. If you give a fig about the kids you teach or parent (and I’m sure you do) you need to take this very seriously and act.

Your children CAN’T control this but you are able to. You can model self-control and practice BEING THERE IN THE MOMENT and impose reasonable controls. Otherwise your children will lose the ability to focus, think, create, ask questions and enjoy their naturally curious natures.

Read about the ways that creativity is killed in schools- Sir Ken Robinson is a leader in the creativity area.

He believes creativity is at least as important as literacy.

https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?utm_campaign=tedspread–a&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Then watch this entertaining but sad video- you won’t regret it!

https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms

 

We CAN act and for the sake of our children we need to.