I think I agree critical thinking skills is the most important not necessarily the topic. However, STEM is very important to progress society. The rest is to help you be a well rounded individual. So we need it all, but we need one more for technological progress. We need an F to get more attention too. Finance.
At what age would you introduce steam learning? My son is three years old. He tends to be more outdoorsy. I let him help out in the kitchen. He likes to clean. He likes to play in the water in the mud all that but what you what age would you introduce this? I’ve also tried introducing the magna tiles at no avail quickly got bored. But he loves monster trucks!
In our household, we started with magnatiles very young, but it was also introduced in our kids pre-school around age 2-3. You know your kid best, and it can definitely vary. Keep at it! -Ben
Yeah I'm not sold on this one. Seems like something Elon Musk would love for his employees: focusing too heavily on practical, job-oriented skills (problem-solving, engineering, tech) and neglecting the critical thinking that subjects like history or philosophy encourage. This approach could produce efficient workers but less reflective citizens. Balancing practical skills with critical inquiry is essential to avoid a workforce that can solve immediate problems but struggles to think deeply about societal or ethical implications.
Agreed. No one here is saying "don't teach critical thinking, only teach practical skills". The discussion is more, have we gone too far in one direction, and assume that that path works for most/all kids? Can we balance more practical/life learning with critical thinking vs. just wrote memorization needed to pass a standardized test? - Ben
First to comment and first to praise! You guys are hilarious and informative. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for stopping by and for listening! We sincerely appreciate it! - Ben
I think I agree critical thinking skills is the most important not necessarily the topic. However, STEM is very important to progress society. The rest is to help you be a well rounded individual. So we need it all, but we need one more for technological progress. We need an F to get more attention too. Finance.
At what age would you introduce steam learning? My son is three years old. He tends to be more outdoorsy. I let him help out in the kitchen. He likes to clean. He likes to play in the water in the mud all that but what you what age would you introduce this? I’ve also tried introducing the magna tiles at no avail quickly got bored. But he loves monster trucks!
In our household, we started with magnatiles very young, but it was also introduced in our kids pre-school around age 2-3. You know your kid best, and it can definitely vary. Keep at it!
-Ben
Yeah I'm not sold on this one. Seems like something Elon Musk would love for his employees:
focusing too heavily on practical, job-oriented skills (problem-solving, engineering, tech) and neglecting the critical thinking that subjects like history or philosophy encourage. This approach could produce efficient workers but less reflective citizens. Balancing practical skills with critical inquiry is essential to avoid a workforce that can solve immediate problems but struggles to think deeply about societal or ethical implications.
Agreed. No one here is saying "don't teach critical thinking, only teach practical skills". The discussion is more, have we gone too far in one direction, and assume that that path works for most/all kids? Can we balance more practical/life learning with critical thinking vs. just wrote memorization needed to pass a standardized test?
- Ben