3 ms·

why don't we teach some of the same things to everybody? it would do wonders if a gifted-like education was given to every student at a young age. especially th

why don't we teach some of the same things to everybody? it would do wonders if a gifted-like education was given to every student at a young age. especially the critical thinking and creativity parts. seems like everybody can grok that. instead of rote memorization of mundane stuff that bores children, a less defined education might inspire kids to grow, more than the generic education they're given. this is coming from somebody whose mother was a gifted educator and grew up in public schools.

zozbot234 5y ago
The inconvenient truth is that most kids are not going to care about stuff like critical thinking, creativity and a challenging education to "inspire them to grow". It bores them to death, they just don't get why it might be important. So-called gifted education should really be about individual preferences and attitudes, rather than being solely founded on perceived "gifted" ability.
- MisterBastahrd 5y ago
  The actual truth is that kids will value whatever adults tell them to value. If critical thinking were an important part of early educations, kids would care about it.
  - BitwiseFool 5y ago
    I don't think this is true at all, kids have their own little personalities and value systems. If kids actually valued whatever adults told them to value they would all be perfect students. My P.E. teacher told me to value exercise but I still wound up being a fat kid. >"If critical thinking were an important part of early educations, kids would care about it." I challenge this because teaching critical thinking to kids is in no way a new concept. Educators have been teaching critical thinking skills for ages - even the Ancient Greeks tried to teach this stuff to their kids. I think the GP is right in saying that most people don't actually care to do much critical thinking. Not a lot of people actively want to challenge their own worldviews and deeply held beliefs - no matter how many tools you give them to enable that mindset.
    - MisterBastahrd 5y ago
      Educators never even pretend to present critical thinking to kids as a concept until they are in high school, mostly because they don't want to deal with the backlash of 20 little minds all working out the logic for themselves. I clearly remember the first time a teacher attempted to grill us about our critical thinking. It was a 10th grade World History teacher who didn't just want us to have the correct answer to a question, but he also demanded that we explain how we arrived at the answer. It's the first time that any teacher outside of a math class asked us to "show our work," and it changed a lot of kids' lives for the better.

zozbot234 5y ago

The inconvenient truth is that most kids are not going to care about stuff like critical thinking, creativity and a challenging education to "inspire them to grow". It bores them to death, they just don't get why it might be important. So-called gifted education should really be about individual preferences and attitudes, rather than being solely founded on perceived "gifted" ability.

MisterBastahrd 5y ago
The actual truth is that kids will value whatever adults tell them to value. If critical thinking were an important part of early educations, kids would care about it.
- BitwiseFool 5y ago
  I don't think this is true at all, kids have their own little personalities and value systems. If kids actually valued whatever adults told them to value they would all be perfect students. My P.E. teacher told me to value exercise but I still wound up being a fat kid. >"If critical thinking were an important part of early educations, kids would care about it." I challenge this because teaching critical thinking to kids is in no way a new concept. Educators have been teaching critical thinking skills for ages - even the Ancient Greeks tried to teach this stuff to their kids. I think the GP is right in saying that most people don't actually care to do much critical thinking. Not a lot of people actively want to challenge their own worldviews and deeply held beliefs - no matter how many tools you give them to enable that mindset.
  - MisterBastahrd 5y ago
    Educators never even pretend to present critical thinking to kids as a concept until they are in high school, mostly because they don't want to deal with the backlash of 20 little minds all working out the logic for themselves. I clearly remember the first time a teacher attempted to grill us about our critical thinking. It was a 10th grade World History teacher who didn't just want us to have the correct answer to a question, but he also demanded that we explain how we arrived at the answer. It's the first time that any teacher outside of a math class asked us to "show our work," and it changed a lot of kids' lives for the better.