Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 142 posts

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#11

Post by circlefavshape »

tboyd47 wrote: post #2

Show them by example how to be skeptical without accusing people of lying, and mention often the many reasons why people say things that might not be completely true. Also, you need to make sure you yourself don't lie to them. A lot of parents still teach their kids to believe in Santa Claus. I know this is one of those cultural sacred cows, but I strongly think this should not be done. Kids need to be able to trust…

I don't agree about Santa Claus fwiw. This is culture-specific, but here (Ireland) he's an integral part of Christmas, and of the excitement about Christmas that kids experience. Santa Claus is the only lie I've ever consciously told my kids. By doing so I've given them access to a great deal of joy and fun, both individual and communal. Should I have deprived them of that because I wanted be absolutely consistent, or to feel virtuous?

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#13

Post by InvaderFizz »

circlefavshape wrote: post #11
tboyd47 wrote: post #2

Show them by example how to be skeptical without accusing people of lying, and mention often the many reasons why people say things that might not be completely true. Also, you need to make sure you yourself don't lie to them. A lot of parents still teach their kids to believe in Santa Claus. I know this is one of those cultural sacred cows, but I strongly think this should not be done. Kids need to be able to trust…

I don't agree about Santa Claus fwiw. This is culture-specific, but here (Ireland) he's an integral part of Christmas, and of the excitement about Christmas that kids experience. Santa Claus is the only lie I've ever consciously told my kids. By doing so I've given them access to a great deal of joy and fun, both individual and communal. Should I have deprived them of that because I wanted be absolutely consistent, o…

This will end up being a personal decision that each parent makes. Much like the previous commenter, my wife and I made a conscious decision to separate myth from fact.

Everything fictional is in "stories."

I never want to be in the position where I consciously lie to my son, so Santa Claus is very clearly a story. That said, we can do all sorts of fun imaginative things with story characters because we know they are not real.

This allows us to have the magic of Santa, without eventually having a large breach of trust.

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#15

Post by ChicagoBoy11 »

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 family ALWAYS had a creative project that they were thinking about, talking about, and was celebrated by all in the family. It could be the dad talking about some data he was cleaning, or the younger kids about some new comic character they were developing, etc. It was clear that there was absolutely NO judgement as to what everyone's endeavor was, but that being a creative person and exploring and thinking was table stakes to being part of that family.

I don't know what the answer is, but I think if you manage to cultivate that kind of culture in your household, everything else will come easier, because above all, it seemed like they all had JOY in doing all of this. I could easily see how it could become a chore and even a burden, but somehow those parents really managed to lose sight of having everyone see thinking and exploring as primarily a fun thing to do, and it seems to have stuck.

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#16

Post by shireboy »

Not 100% sure what aspect of thinking you mean, but in general, Read, read, read. Figure out how best to do for your family, but for ours (4,8,11yo, but we've done this since the first was ~3):

* Every night, read them out loud classic books slightly over recommended reading age. We started with Jungle Book, Riki Tiki Tavi, other Kipling, Bears on Hemlock Mountain, etc. These days we just finished Lord of the Rings and are doing Silmarillion. Jules Verne is another favorite.

* Audio books. We use Audible and always play something when traveling to swim practice, etc. Boxcar Children, Historical fiction, Paddington, etc.

* Encourage imaginative play based on the stories. Ours have an ongoing play containing Hobbits, bears, elves, Harry Potter and Star Wars ;) Encourage them to make up and tell their own stories.

* Go to the library weekly (ours just reopened on a limited basis). We let ours check out 5 books of whatever they want, but say 2 must be history, science, literature, etc. Get them their own card as soon as possible.

While fiction might not seem at first to "teach kids how to think", it really can. It simulates what people are thinking in various situations the kids can relate to. Storytelling can help them reinforce that and extrapolate to new scenarios in fun, safe ways. Mensa has some great reading lists: https://www.mensaforkids.org/achieve/excellence-in-reading/

Not reading, but we also:

* Discuss and research together in depth things that interest us and them. For example, I talk to mine about the latest space news over dinner. They love hearing about various missions, challenges to space travel, etc.

* Play chess and/or other strategy games.

* DuoLingo on a regular basis. We let ours choose what language - I have one doing Dutch and one doing Latin.

* Code.org, youtube DIY and educational channels

Again, I believe in aiming slightly over their heads. Not so much you bore them to death, but enough to get gears turning. Even if they don't retain details, it builds a framework for them to build on. Susan Wise Bauer in The Well Trained Mind talks about how doing this can provide "coat hangers" for them to hang bigger thoughts and more details on in later years.

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#17

Post by Izkata »

InvaderFizz wrote: post #13
circlefavshape wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't agree about Santa Claus fwiw. This is culture-specific, but here (Ireland) he's an integral part of Christmas, and of the excitement about Christmas that kids experience. Santa Claus is the only lie I've ever consciously told my kids. By doing so I've given them access to a great deal of joy and fun, both individual and communal. Should I have deprived them of that because I wanted be absolutely consistent, o…

This will end up being a personal decision that each parent makes. Much like the previous commenter, my wife and I made a conscious decision to separate myth from fact. Everything fictional is in "stories." I never want to be in the position where I consciously lie to my son, so Santa Claus is very clearly a story. That said, we can do all sorts of fun imaginative things with story characters because we know they are…

> This will end up being a personal decision that each parent makes.

And because of that I want to add how my parents did it, which was kind of along the lines of "teaching children to think": They kept up the myth until we started questioning it, turning it into a sort of rite of passage.

I figured it out in 2nd grade, age 7 or 8, right at the point OP is asking about.

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#18

Post by natmaka »

tboyd47 wrote: post #2

Show them by example how to be skeptical without accusing people of lying, and mention often the many reasons why people say things that might not be completely true. Also, you need to make sure you yourself don't lie to them. A lot of parents still teach their kids to believe in Santa Claus. I know this is one of those cultural sacred cows, but I strongly think this should not be done. Kids need to be able to trust…

Santa Claus may be 'intellectually' useful starting from the instant the kid learns that is is a myth, because this may teach him that seeing everybody apparently believe in something doesn't preclude that, in fact, nearly nobody does.

This may be of paramount importance when it comes to forming a critical mind.

Moreover any human group is built upon myths.

Re: Ask HN: Teaching kids how to think?

#20

Post by andi999 »

I believe you should ban 'because I say so' as an answer. I dont know if it is good or harmful, but I generally say if I dont know an answer and if I know it is a question the answer nobody in the world knows, I will say this as well.
Post reply on HN