Do you show kids they have the ability to think for themselves from an early age, or do you do their thinking for them, so they don’t make mistakes?

[caring__1]

[NathanDavis]

as a tutor, and a coach that I've been a few times...

I've actually done both, sometimes at first... you need to take them by the hand, you really do, especially when it is something they have never done before, or if they feel like they've always failed or never got it right before

so, yes... I will do a lot for them, with the idea that they can see how it COULD be done, and this is the very best way I have to actually find out, and spot and know what are they struggling with

once I find what are they missing, or lack, or get confused by... then yes, that's when I start to help to do it themselves, to learn by themselves, to understand something... making mistakes is the only way you can learn from them and how to avoid them, it's just all part of the process...

of course it also depends on what you actually teach to a kid or a young one... but one thing is for sure, I will one, two, or even ten different ways to approach it if needed, and not just one or the other

[caring__1]

You're right to believe they can't have knowledge till they're taught it, but, once they have the basics, we can continue to repeat the basics, spoon feed them with what they should do or nurture their creative talents. Most kids are taught to be spoon fed, so they continually ask for the answers. You can tell them how to spell the word, or you can look it up together in the dictionary.

When my son was young, he said "If I flap my arms hard enough, I can fly." The typical parent would say "Don't even try it, you'll hurt yourself," shutting them down. It's like telling a kid, "Don't climb up on that wall, or you'll fall and hurt yourself." Now that becomes a challenge to them, as they need to prove you wrong. I told my son, "That's interesting. I wonder how it works. Let's experiment." I didn't send him off to do it on his own, but I wanted him to discover what works and what doesn't work. If I told him things were impossible, based on my limited perspective, I wonder if he'd own the patents he presently owns... for things I might have thought to be impossible.

While an engineering student in college, his dean used to challenge the students with very difficult problems to solve, offering significant rewards to anyone who could solve the problem. Usually, no one would even attempt the problem. One day, my son's friends pushed him to go up and solve the problem, and reluctantly he did. After he filled the entire board with computations, the dean looked at my son's results and said "That's not what I came up with... it's better than my solution." We can limit the young to what makes sense to us, or we can open doors for them to move beyond our limitations.

[bededazzle]

i used to teach creative writing to 8-10 year olds. my day went like this: i would read what they wrote and say, “this is awesome,” because it was

[caring__1]

And how was that going to motivate them to improve and grow?

[bededazzle]

i think they will improve by writing, and they will write if they feel good about themselves. children are much more creatively talented than adults, and i think we sometimes destroy what they have through the school system. that’s just my take though!

[caring__1]

Sorry, I misread your first statement as "this is awful." You just gave me my first laugh of the day.

Letting them know they're awesome is great, but it can have even greater impact if we share the specifics of what made it awesome. That way, they gain specific knowledge they can apply in future situations.

[purplepoppy]

If you ask a 5 years old boy what he wants to wear today he'll probably pick a Superman outfit. But if you ask, "do you want to wear the red or blue shirt today?" Your letting him think and choose but your guiding his choices.

[caring__1]

That is true. It's not always necessary to allow all options, or they'll just stick to what's familiar. Rather than say "Today, do you want to have an educational experience, or do you want to stay in your room and play video games all day?" you could ask "Today, would you prefer going to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory open house or see the Tutankhamun exhibit at the museum?" How will they even know other options exist if you don't open their eyes to them?

Once, my son and I were looking at what was happening on the weekend and saw there was a Taiko concert at the park. Neither of us had ever previously heard of Taiko, but we decided to see what it was like, and we were blown away at how amazing the concert was.

[Christsdisciple15]

I don’t have kids yet but I’d like to think it’s a fine line between both

[exitseven]

I tried to let my kids make some mistakes, It was not easy to do.

[caring__1]

I can relate to that. I live in the country where there's a lot of dirt and rocks. When my son was young, he used to run, trip and fall... always falling flat on his face with his arms at his side. I would hold up my hands and say "Hands." It actually took him longer than I expected, but eventually he learned to put his hands down when he fell. Until then, he was a bloody mess.