Let’s face it: no matter how much parents and teachers
complain, they love to be needed by their children. So, it’s only natural for a
child’s growing independence to be a
hard pill to swallow for parents and teachers of today.
But fostering independent thinking skills in your child is
an important task for parents and Teachers. You can support their process by
inviting them to ‘imagine’ another idea or way to do something. This allows
them to move into the realm of creative thinking and the teachers and parents
need to take a ‘risk’ without fear of
being different or wrong.
If you think that schools are the best places for kids to
learn how to be independent thinkers, our thinking should undergo a
metamorphosis. And the current 'teach to test' system which most schools follow
is setting our children up for failure. One of the biggest problems seen around
the country is that students are being sat upon; they must check their
creativity at the classroom door. Independent thinking and innovation, which
have been key ingredients throughout our country's history, are becoming just
that... history.”
Because of this, teachers must help to fill in the gap. We
can look for ways to nurture their individual learning styles and independent
thinking skills at School. And there are lots of fun ways you can do that.
Here’s what the experts suggest:
Talk
First of all, encourage your child to talk in descriptive
terms. Start by picking an everyday
activity – such as running, jumping, doing a somersault or cartwheel – and have
your kids explain to you howhe/ she
feels while doing that activity. Or you can pick a color, and ask your kids to
describe what he/she thinks about when he/she sees that color.
Other ideas: ask your kids
to describe her/his ideal vacation spot, talk about what one of her/his
toys is thinking, or tell you what they like about their best friend.
Listen
Next, engage your child’s listening skills, and teach him /her
how to pay attention to what others are saying before sharing his/her own
thoughts on the matter.
It is important to expose children to diverse ideas and
approaches to life and living. For example, it is wonderful for a young child
to listen to and participate in open classroom discussions where many different
viewpoints and opinions are both encouraged and respected.
Think
It’s often tempting to jump in and show our children how to
do something “right”, but that doesn’t help them learn to do things, or to
think for themselves.
Encourage children to try and solve their own problems
instead of doing it for them. And when they do... be sure to ‘label’ what they
are doing by saying, ‘You are thinking!’ This will help children recognize the
value of thinking for them.
Write
Writing practice doesn’t have to be just about putting words
to paper, although it can if your child is old enough; otherwise, get her
telling her own made-up tales in the ancient verbal story telling
Try making up a story together, taking turns coming up with
the next few sentences, instead of reading a story to your class. You could
also pick three random words, and let your kids write or tell you a poem about
those words. Remember, poems don’t need to rhyme!
Another idea is to pause during a book or movie to ask your
kids what they would do or say to the character in the plot if they just walked
into that scene. This is a fun way to get kids thinking for themselves, and you
can discuss the potential outcomes if it were handled one particular way or
another. “I like to think of this as a sort of dress rehearsal for real life.
If kids play out various situations with characters that they have already
bonded with in a book or movie, they are more likely to suggest something out
of compassion instead of going with the crowd. And as a result, I have seen
this play out the same way in real-life situations.
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