Child driven education - Part I

What a curious title, isn’t it? Child-driven education… It seems almost impossible for many of us. But not for Dr. Sugata Mitra, an education scientist who made an interesting experiment called “Hole in the Wall”. In this hole he installed a computer with an active internet connection. Afterwards, the unschooled Indian children living in that low district started… browsing, playing games, google-ing and so on. Before that, they knew nothing about computers!!! For more details and an appealing speech, follow this link.

One of the main ideas of Dr. Mitra’s research is that “in the absence of supervision or formal teaching, children can teach themselves and each other, if they're motivated by curiosity.”

Curiosity – this is the nucleus of child-driven education. You can give your child anything: a computer, a book, or some new toys. If he is motivated enough, if he is curious enough about them, he will definitely learn how to use any of those objects. And here, the important aspect is not to use, but to learn.

Children can learn all sorts of things by themselves. They always did! Parents and teachers can guide them, but the fact is that it is preferable for them not to abusively invert in the process of education. We have to let our children some space, to let them express and experience their curiosity. This, indeed, can make the little ones progress in an unexpected and tremendous manner.

The idea is that your child must independently find the answer to the things that he is curious about. He must address questions and answer them by himself. You do not necessarily have to give him the answer. Amazingly, he is capable of finding it without any help from anyone.

Be Outdoor, Live Outdoor. Playing Sports. Part II

These benefits are at least of two main types: physical and psychical. The first ones consist in a good health and growth of the child, due to the fact that his bones and muscle become stronger. At this point, it is appropriate to discuss about the risk that your child might develop injuries when playing sports. Some parents fear about this fact, but generally, there is no reason to act like that. If your child plays sports with a trainer and has adequate equipment during classes, then the situation is under control.

Psychical benefits may refer to an increasing level of energy, decrease of level of stress and, of course, brain oxygenation – all of them improving your child to concentrate better during school classes. Let’s not forget about the development of your child’s competitive skills. This aspect leads to another area of life benefit where the kid can register benefits from playing sports. I’m talking about the social area. Even if your child will make a career in sports’ field or not, he will definitely develop some essential leadership skills. Also, working in team will develop his capacity of interaction with other people. Your child will have a balanced social life, will be disciplined and emotionally poised.

Apart of all these physical and social benefits, here is the best aspect of playing sports: sports are fun, and kids absolutely love this part! If your child manages to play sports at least until high school, the statistics say that he has more chances to be an excellent student.

So, at some point, playing sports guarantees your child’s success in life! And this is extraordinary!