GOING BEYOND SCHOOLS

Have are few ideas that may help in making a difference in the Child’s attitude of learning.

• Encourage children to indulge in teaching what they have learnt. Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand yourself!”
• First of all, stop the “Culture of shaming”, if your child does not perform well in the class. Instead, actively look for his interests and encourage them.
• When you see your child grasping the concepts quickly, give him the material that stimulates higher order thinking skills. (HOTS)
• Allow your child to explore the application of what he has learnt in the real world.
• Introduce him to quality courses and Educational Apps that deliver value addition. Reputed Institutions like MIT scratch App, NASA App, Google Education App etc. Make your child a catalyst for his/her own learning.
• Your child’s Exams should be treated as FEEDBACK and not a JUDGEMENT. It should not mark your child, “That’s it! This is your capacity?. Help them to learn their misconceptions in the subjects and move on.
• Both Peer and Self Assessment are valuable skills for learning. Children learn to support and collaborate each other by giving valuable feedbacks. It improves their social skills through discussion and debate.
• Release them from “ROTE LEARNING”. This “Out of the syllabus” notion should be eradicated; instead they should be encouraged to think “Out of the Box”. More than information assimilation, they should be guided on information application. Encourage them to find their own resources in the Library, Internet and talking to relevant resourceful people.
• Allow them to focus on what is happening in their own neighbourhoods. This will enhance their empathy and compassion towards the society. Give them case studies for critical thinking and problem solving. For example: Ask your child to give a response on-“The street in front of your house is dumped with Garbage. What would you do to reduce the pollution that follows?” Now your child is forced to think in his/her own context. Your child understands the relevance of what he/she is learning and also believes that he has the power to change things which are not in order.
• Encourage Divergent thinking

Once your child learns going beyond schools, they will go places!!!