MOONLIGHT - a Free to Read Children's Magazine moonlight SIMPLE | Page 7

MOON LIGHT
Mankind can only progress if the mind is to be progressive. To be progressive think-
ers one needs to innovate and take risks, how could we help child to be so? Unlike
couple of decades ago upbringing was focused on making a good human being
where personality fetched more brownie points over today’s expecta�on among
children who (o�en) forced to chase never-ending quest for achievements. Earlier
children had limited space to innovate because of hand-to-mouth economics. Chil-
dren o�en are forced to work on standardized tests. These measurements likely to
create a situa�on of difficulty to be innovators in future. These standardized tests are
o�en evaluated like binary 0 or 1 where ge�ng answers become focus.
According to author Wagner’s1 book, Crea�ng Innovators says, ‘An average a child
asks 100 ques�ons a day. But around 10 or 12 age, child understands the importance
of right answers than asking ques�ons.’
How do we help child to balance both? Is it a right ques�on to ponder? Or Is crea�ve
has to do with asking ques�ons? In a classroom or on coffee table talks one o�en
consumes informa�on either through force (uniformity because of curriculum) or
belief system. Parents and teachers could bring sense of play where child could play
mul�ple role as thinkers, innovators and problem solvers. Parents and teachers could
help to connect to the basics that child has come across in a course work. It might
seem fun for a child.
One of such introduc�on to schools and home is STEM educa�on (Science, Technolo-
gy, Engineering and Math). This inter-disciplinary approach will help in fueling the
curious mind to focus on understanding how to bring the mul�ple things together.
This will foster several skills either working individuals or in a group.Skills that are in
demand such as crea�vity, communica�on and collabora�on. STEM is applicable to
languages, history or anything else. This is to help individual to educate and person-
alize learning. It can be referred as STEAM, where ‘A’ refers to Arts.
Dale Dougherty2 summed up very neatly in his TED talk at TED@Motorcity 2011, we
are makers. He believes that each individual contributes through making something.
They not necessarily have real significant to everyone but it could be fvvor oneself.
Author Drew Boyd also believes that children can learn systema�c crea�vity at early
age. He uses five techniques of Systema�c Inven�ve Thinking. He pinpoints that by
crea�ng a model (prototype) that is already been invented, this is success. Because
by repea�ng a successful model, one could invent new and useful. His teaching to
children also emphasis on two direc�on of innova�on: solu�on-to-problem and
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problem-to-solu�on. `