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102 sats \ 5 replies \ @Undisciplined 7 May \ on: Raising a child into being a good human, instead of being a good worker. mostly_harmless
That's a great prompt.
The first and most obvious thing is that parents need to be aware of what is being imparted to their kids in school. If they find those lessons to be unacceptable, for whatever reasons, then they need to find a different arrangement. If those lessons are merely incomplete, then parents need to take the time to make up the difference.
As to what kinds of changes need to be made, obviously I have many in mind: see, #496016 for some of them.
Since you have to be able to support yourself before you can support others, that's probably the place to start. Kids should be learning skills that will be directly useful in their lives, regardless of career path: personal finance, nutrition, cooking, etc. A bonus to this, that I'm discovering currently, is that little kids are eager to help out around the house, so they're motivated to learn these things. That's something that can be fostered at school by giving kids actual responsibilities, which I understand is done in Japan (perhaps @cryotosensei can elaborate) and is being done in some American charter schools.
Then it's a matter of communicating wiser priorities. Personal relationships matter more to people than careers and yet the later is heavily prioritized over the former. Beyond a roughly middle class income, average happiness stops increasing with wealth, so we should be encouraging people to try to make a living doing things they find fulfilling.
That's right, when children are little they love to help you, their curiosity about the world makes them want to support you in whatever you do, my daughter at the moment likes to wash the dishes hahaha, who likes to wash dishes? Only the children like it because they play with the foam, but it is a good opportunity to teach them, the same for washing their clothes, they also like to help in the kitchen, my daughter and I cook together sometimes, she helps me with simple and Likewise, it is a great opportunity for her to learn and become familiar with household chores, which she will have to do alone at some point when she becomes independent.
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My daughter often tells us "Stop! I want to help!"
It's not always easy to come up with things she can do, but she often helps my wife with simple cooking tasks and she helps me change out our water jugs.
Usually, it ends up being more work, but as you say, it's a great opportunity for her to learn.
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It really is complicated, it depends on their age, at first it is more difficult, and I totally agree, sometimes it is more work than the help, but they feel so happy being a useful part of the house, the The problem also lies when we are in a hurry or it is something that cannot be damaged, but there we create strategies to make them participate. They also learn by making mistakes, today my daughter calmly mixes the pancakes by herself, I leave the ingredients on the table and she is in charge of mixing, while I do something else or sometimes she washes the dishes (not knives) and I I am advancing some other task, it is very great when they already know how to do small tasks. Keep up the good work with your baby.
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"The first and most obvious thing is that parents need to be aware of what is being imparted to their kids in school. If they find those lessons to be unacceptable, for whatever reasons, then they need to find a different arrangement. If those lessons are merely incomplete, then parents need to take the time to make up the difference."
Hm, I see where you're coming from, and what if both parents work full time?
"Kids should be learning skills that will be directly useful in their lives, regardless of career path: personal finance, nutrition, cooking, etc."
Absolutely, and bonus points for arguing that kids should be given responsibility, as I think that that's something many people lack nowadays: general responsibility.
"Personal relationships matter more to people than careers and yet the later is heavily prioritized over the former.*"
True, but how exactly would you go about turning these two around?
"We should be encouraging people to try to make a living doing things they find fulfilling."
That should be one of the main efforts, IMHO.
How would you facilitate that?
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what if both parents work full time?
- Maybe that's not absolutely necessary. Most people never bother to even calculate how much extra money they really have from the second earner.
- There are lots of options, other than homeschooling: charters, private schools, zoning exemptions, etc. It might even be as simple as finding a different teacher in the same school.
how exactly would you go about turning these two around?
This is a culture shift, more than something schools should be involved with. My sense is that parents tell their kids to focus on their school work, rather than their friendships or dating. That doesn't need to be reversed, exactly, but kids should be encouraged to treat those relationships and commitments seriously, instead of communicating that they aren't important.
How would you facilitate that?
This one should be pretty easy. Instead of jamming everyone into the same cookie cutter, let kids pursue their interests: This is common in several alternative education systems, like Montessori and unschooling. Then, help them find opportunities to make a living doing those things.
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