According to Margaret Mead, an American cultural anthropologist, children must be taught HOW to think not WHAT to think.
The earlier we can equip our children with the relevant skills on how to think, the better.
9 PILLARS THAT PLAY A VERY CRITICAL ROLE IN TEACHING A CHILD HOW TO THINK
1. Listening
A child must know (and apply) the basic secrets to effective listening.
2. Critical vs. Non-critical information
A child must learn that NOT all information is important. A child must be able to identify which information is CRITICAL and which information is NON-CRITICAL.
3. Keyword Identification
Once a child is able to determine which information is CRITICAL INFORMATION, he must be able to draw out key concepts from both a written level as well as an auditory level.
4. Effective Reading
Now that a child knows how to identify CRITICAL INFORMATION and KEYWORDS, he must learn to comprehend information on a written and an auditory level.
5. Effective Note-taking
Note-taking effectively increases one’s concentration as well as retention in the classroom considerably. A child must learn from an early age how to take notes of the critical information heard in the classroom.
6. Summarising
In order to boost a child’s retention and understanding, he must be able to know how to summarise the critical information of a text.
7. Memory
A child must know how to use and apply the best memory systems, to enhance recall and the ability to think critically.
8. Revision
Revision means to see again. The more a child learns to see the information again, the more his brain will trust that it is important and should be stored. A child must know when, how and how often to reinforce key information learnt in the classroom and from written text.
9. The Art of Skilful Living
Real intelligence is creating products and services that are valued by society. A child must learn to think critically and apply his genius to real-world problems.
Kath Denholm is a speech therapist who has worked in London, private practices in Cape Town and KZN and taught at Livingstone Remedial School for three years. She is the owner and founder of Little Genius Puppets, an online educational programme teaching young children to identify key information and take it to long-term memory.
Visit her website for more information.