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Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

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Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#101

Post by axiom92 »

programmerisme wrote: post #81
alienfilesystem wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would have to submit that family's situation is rare. My dad did what he could to help me, bought me computers, subscriptions to Creative Computing magazine (I'm dating myself here, read early 80s) and letting me be me. My mother was not academic in any way. She was HS educated in the rural south and didn't contribute to my academics in any way. My father had a MSc in engineering and designed flight systems. He was…

Your parents' situation describes my marriage somewhat. I'm a software developer and (at least in my own evaluation) am an intellectually curious person. My wife is comparatively uneducated, not a good thinker and not very curious at all. We had our first baby this year and I'm the one who does all the research and evaluation to ensure that we're taking care of our baby well and doing the things to help our child be…

Sorry if I am jumping a line, but did you not figure out that you and your wife don't really have a lot of common interests while you were dating?

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#102

Post by seg_lol »

tmaly wrote: post #64
seg_lol wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am in no way saying you are doing this, comment is for the thread as well as you. As others have mentioned in this discussion, I think giving the child both a sense and actual control over what they work on is one of the keys. Children want to please their parents, so they might work on things that they think you would like. They are extremely good at reading people even if other actions seem uncoordinated. It is b…

>Children want to please their parents, so they might work on things that they think you would like. I think this is known as the Pygmalion effect. It is very powerful, and we as parents/teachers have to be very careful with this. Knowing what each of us really wants is a difficult question to answer. I often wonder how much of what my parents were and were not shaped what I have become. My daughter actually just tau…

Riding a bike is hard. It is a lot like swimming, so many motions at the same time. The body has to think it, not the cortex. There is this great smarter everyday segment on a reverse bike. I recommend it for everyone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFzDaBzBlL0

My kids first word was, "no". Her first sentence was, "help me no". I use those as guides to maintain the distance she desires.

Athletics like art are one of those accomplishments and outlets that kids can embrace at a young age w/o having the "when I grow up" statements. They can start living their lives in the now w/o adults putting it off to a later date.

Watching a kid finally get riding a bike is a wonderful thing.

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#103

Post by xyproto »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #78
ChicagoBoy11 wrote: post #15

I had the pleasure to spend a few years with an incredibly creative family, in all domains (family unit consisted of nobel prize winner, renowned academics, award winning authors, artists), and the one thing which always stood out to me was how they had such a deep culture of rewarding curiosity, thinking, and exploration. I have no idea how conscious it was on the family's part, but it seemed like everyone in that f…

In my experience (raising my own children and being engaged with a bunch of parents at the same stage of child rearing) I observed that all of the children were very aware that there were things they didn't know. What is more they wanted to know things and that desire expressed itself as questions and curiosity. As a family we have had two activities that have really bound us together, one is my wife's insistence tha…

This sounds wholesome and nice. How often do you camp, and approximatly how far do you walk?

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#104

Post by asdasfasdfasdf »

glitchc wrote: post #28
ChicagoBoy11 wrote: post #15

I had the pleasure to spend a few years with an incredibly creative family, in all domains (family unit consisted of nobel prize winner, renowned academics, award winning authors, artists), and the one thing which always stood out to me was how they had such a deep culture of rewarding curiosity, thinking, and exploration. I have no idea how conscious it was on the family's part, but it seemed like everyone in that f…

Wow that's lovely. How does one work around the stresses of daily life to replicate that?

Being somewhat wealthy probably helps significantly.

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#105

Post by Jun8 »

tmaly wrote: post #55
Jun8 wrote: post #30

To exercise pure thinking skills and empathy (as opposed to STEM, etc.) a great approach is to discuss philosophical/moral problems with the, treating their opinion seriously. A good book to use is: The Pig That Wants To Be Eaten”, but any example from daily life or movies can be used.

This is the first I have heard of The Pig That Wants To Be Eaten thank you for the recommendation. What did you like most about this book?

It lists many dilemmas from various areas of life explained in a simple way with examples, so you don't lose the kid's attention. Some of them are classical ethical problems so you can take your discussion as deeps you want.

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#106

Post by dorkwood »

programmerisme wrote: post #81
alienfilesystem wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would have to submit that family's situation is rare. My dad did what he could to help me, bought me computers, subscriptions to Creative Computing magazine (I'm dating myself here, read early 80s) and letting me be me. My mother was not academic in any way. She was HS educated in the rural south and didn't contribute to my academics in any way. My father had a MSc in engineering and designed flight systems. He was…

Your parents' situation describes my marriage somewhat. I'm a software developer and (at least in my own evaluation) am an intellectually curious person. My wife is comparatively uneducated, not a good thinker and not very curious at all. We had our first baby this year and I'm the one who does all the research and evaluation to ensure that we're taking care of our baby well and doing the things to help our child be…

I once read some advice that was something along the lines of "don't provide them with instruction, just provide them with the materials". I can remember being an extremely curious kid, but there were no materials in my house other than pencils and blank paper, and no books other than the dictionary. I'm still a curious adult, but I think the lack of access to any materials at home stunted my development.

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#107

Post by voisin »

tmaly wrote: post #41
voisin wrote: post #9

I’d recommend reading up on Unschooling, even if you don’t plan to keep your kids out of school to Unschool. It is essentially giving them broad exposure to things, seeing what areas capture their imagination, and then supporting those areas as much as possible. Never forcing them to learn something because of how you feel something should be learned (which kills natural interest and excitement for learning) - they w…

Have you tried to Unschool kids? What reading or other material have you enjoyed on this topic?

Our eldest would just be starting kindergarten so our first hand experience is limited, but we have connected with tons of people that homeschool and unschool and had planned to do this even pre-Covid. We move a lot and wanted to have a more hands-on approach to teaching our kids so we started with homeschool research but unschooling has seemed like a far better fit. We’ve read a lot, my wife far more than me. It has been amazing hearing from people with older kids who, thanks to Covid, have been forced to try home learning and now aren’t going back. Several people we know have started unschooling kids older than ours and have seen a dramatic improvement in their kids’ confidence and interest in exploring new things.

This list of resources is pretty great: https://livingjoyfully.ca/resources/

The book Free to Learn and the John Holt books listed are excellent starting points.

We would also highly recommend Pam Laricchia’s books and podcasts.

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#108

Post by programmerisme »

ssivark wrote: post #96
programmerisme wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your parents' situation describes my marriage somewhat. I'm a software developer and (at least in my own evaluation) am an intellectually curious person. My wife is comparatively uneducated, not a good thinker and not very curious at all. We had our first baby this year and I'm the one who does all the research and evaluation to ensure that we're taking care of our baby well and doing the things to help our child be…

> (at least in my own evaluation) am an intellectually curious person. My wife is comparatively uneducated, not a good thinker and not very curious at all. I get what you mean, but I’ll add the following: I’m sure she loves the child as much as you do, and wants it to turn out well and happy. Books and formal knowledge are only a small part of human understanding; if your wife is kind and loving, chances are she unde…

This is wisdom right here that I need to apply. Thank you.

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#109

Post by programmerisme »

alienfilesystem wrote: post #100
programmerisme wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your parents' situation describes my marriage somewhat. I'm a software developer and (at least in my own evaluation) am an intellectually curious person. My wife is comparatively uneducated, not a good thinker and not very curious at all. We had our first baby this year and I'm the one who does all the research and evaluation to ensure that we're taking care of our baby well and doing the things to help our child be…

Let your wife be your wife. You be you. Kids are naturally curious, especially boys. I have both. My daughter is bright and a straight A student, but she and her friends lack the adventuresome nature boys have. My boys are game for anything that involves spaceships, science, animals, fishing, etc. They wanted to know how fish worked, so I cut a catch open and showed them what a fish looked like inside: eyes, brain, i…

There are things we enjoy together like hiking and traveling. I just wouldn't be able to talk politics or philosophy on a deep level with her for example.

Amen that parenting is no joke. She's a trooper with our kid and is way more patient and persevering that I am. I'm very thankful for her.

Thank you for your sharing and advice. I have this whole subthread bookmarked.

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#110

Post by ChuckMcM »

xyproto wrote: post #103
ChuckMcM wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience (raising my own children and being engaged with a bunch of parents at the same stage of child rearing) I observed that all of the children were very aware that there were things they didn't know. What is more they wanted to know things and that desire expressed itself as questions and curiosity. As a family we have had two activities that have really bound us together, one is my wife's insistence tha…

This sounds wholesome and nice. How often do you camp, and approximatly how far do you walk?

At the peak we were camping at least once a month. We opted to home school our kids for the elementary - middle school years (they went to public high school) and that allowed us some freedoms like spending a week in Yellowstone working on geology lessons, biology (wildlife) lessons, as well as general life lessons. I am extremely grateful we had a chance to do that.

Walking is something I started doing when I began focusing on my health and where I'd be if I didn't do something. These days I walk about 7 - 8 miles a day but being semi-retired helps there. Another friend of mine and I found we can spend our time walking and talking on conference calls very effectively to 'double use' the time.

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