Thoughts, Words and Photos (Twenty Three)
The last few days have been pretty hectic but also really nice as I have been spending a lot of time with our daughter. Kids seem to go through stages where seemingly in a few days, they can have some kind of growth spurt where they make a lot of progress very fast and she seem to be in one of those phases at the moment. It is quite incredible to watch.
Development is something I am interested in as after all, it is a core part of my business as a personnel trainer an it is also something I try to bring into what I offer at Steemit also. A lot of people tend to look at individual skill development as something that must be focused on but I often see it as something that requires a less direct approach where the skill itself is grouped in an activity that requires it. When I watch my daughter, this is what she does, all kids do.
They do not aim to learn, they do not aim for anything other than quench an insatiable curiosity. They go out into their environment and play and do all manner of things and when they find something they enjoy, they will practice and discover better and better ways to do it. Adults often interfere with this process and teach them the right way under the assumption that the way they know, is actually the best way to do something. In time, this changes the way kids learn by reducing the curiosity required for self-discovery and instead, rely on an authority to teach.
It is not that one can't learn in such an environment such as school but, it limits the range one wants to learn quite severely as it often becomes what is taught instead of what one may actually find much interesting. This has in my opinion, profound affects on many people's lives as instead of the journey to really work out what one wants to do with life, they are herded down the cattle run into careers that may fill the wallet but, leave the heart wanting.
This is a process that I see potentially changing as automation and artificial intelligence start to replace the jobs that so many require to live but, dislike to do. In a perfect scenario we could all spend our lives learning what we want to learn without being forced to do it for a paycheck. Many think that we would throw the opportunity away and do nothing instead but, I think that there would be a significant number who would take the chance and learn the most incredible things about themselves and this world.
I say potentially because the option is there though it requires a change in the way the world operates to realise it as it will require a shift in the way resources are allocated and value is perceived. Some takes this to mean some kind or centralised authority must be required for redistribution but, I see that it will require decentralised individuals collaborating as a community. The likelihood of it happening within my lifetime is minuscule but, perhaps my daughter will have a chance to be a part of it. At least, I am going to encourage her to discover who she is for herself and what she then does with the opportunities she has, is up to her.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
I felt that when I was in school myself and could not agree more! Welcome to the machine. I really appreciate the ability of the decentralized ones to think critically. I hope it will be in our lifetime.
I absolutely love the reflections on the water in the photographs!
I felt it too as I never really fit into the structure of school It is not even that I was poor at it, just not interested enough.
These were taken close to where I live, very early in the morning.
School was always geared towards educating the masses and not really nurturing intelligence from my experience. I never felt engaged enough to put all my effort into education. In hindsight, I never would have conformed, but I wish I had done my best at all times. I really felt like I let my principles get in the way of my effort as an excuse.
Was it cold that early when you took those shots?
Yes, I wish I had done the same as I think learning to learn that way would have been useful in some respects but, I am not great with listening to authority.
It was a mid-November morning so it was pretty cold but as you can see, there are still one or two boats in the water so not 'that' cold yet. All the boats have to be taken from the lakes of course before they freeze over.
Authority is always what pissed me off! Especially when they were Wrong!hahahaha
Dang, I was just thinking... I didn't think it gets that cold Anywhere in Australia to freeze over that much water! hahaha Then I just remembered you are next door to us in Sweden! Definitely Frigid!
The government don't want children to be able to find what they're good at and what they like doing, because they don't care about what kids like doing. They care about teaching them what the system can use. Such as obedience.
But I agree, kids have a phenomenal potential for learning, because it's something that comes naturally to human beings .
I don't think that's true, but I get the reasoning behind it. I mean, if you live in the system for too long and come to rely on authorities to teach you things about yourself and the world, then yes, very probably you wouldn't know what to do when presented with the chance of free learning. But you never know. As I said, learning is in our nature..
Even now I think people waste a lot of the time and potential they have. There is a limit on how much gaming, facebook, TV, youtube etc can actually bring value yet, people seem to contiue to incerease their time spent consuming it. I am hoping that as some people start to become creators again, others will follow.
To be honest, I think we kid ourselves that we have time, that there's always some time left. To do those things that we'd rather do. Of course we can afford one more silly video on facebook (even if that video turns into 10), because we imagine that there's a loophole in time - where all this wasted time goes , so that it doesn't actually take away from our precious time...
But that time isn't infinite and those videos add up....
I hope you're right, I hope others follow.
I agree. I hardly watch anything, no shows, no games (other than a few moves of words with friends a day[with friends]) no news. If people are complaining about their position in life but still find the time to waste, they might deserve their position.
you're right, we live in this state of complacency where we don't like where we are, but aren't willing to change it, either. Maybe because change is scary...I mean, you could always fail.
I love word games :D And I think a show or a movie or a game are great, occasionally. It's when there's too much of something that things start going wrong. If you have one show that you love and watch every week, okay, I think of that as time wasted knowingly - you understand and accept that you won't do anything for the next 45 mind to watch this. But when you're mindlessly plowing through such distractions, then yes, you deserve your fate.
It's incredible witnessing father-daughter time. There is a lot to notice and love about the growth of children when we spend time with them. I was one of the few that have been interfering with the way kids learn, but from your point of view I feel letting them self discover their interests is the way to approach them. And we too adults have got to involve ourselves in things that let us learn more about ourelves and this world. The time we have in this world is limited, everyone has got to use it to do what he/she feels happy doing to avoid any regrets when we age.
Yeah @tarazkp. I can remember when I was living with my nephew. When he is done with school work say 2pm, the father doesn't return home till about 6pm. I can remember one question he would ask him everyday and that was "Mark, come share with me how you spent your day".
And with that question, he was able to relate with the Son, get involved in his life and become a part of the Boys life.
That's a form of parenting I really admire where parents are involved in the lives of the kids, no matter how grown they are.
It looks admirable honestly.
@tarazkp, thanks for always sharing issues that are worth pondering on.
And your photography too is simply topnotch
If you're interested gamification is something that becoming increasingly popular in the technology sector, but I see it as something that hopefully will be recognized in other industries as well. Especially that of the education system. In case you're not familiar with the term, gamification is basically making things into a game. When gamifying an experience, fun things are brought to more serious things. The same way as children learn, fun ways. In most of the animal populations kids learn through play and we as humans are no different. Dogs for example like to fight play to learn survival, for us humans we don't really need to fight although boys tend to have some predisposition to do so. Anyway, we also learn by the fun of it in the beginning. The amazing thing is that it never really disappears, just the social norms make it less acceptable. Therefore, by making it acceptable to play to learn is something that I believe will be more prevalent in the future, especially since technology is becoming more and more everyday.
As good as gamification may be in theory, so far it is predominantly used as a way to to take more attention resources from 'real life'. There is a lot of future potential however with VR and AR I think but again, if not managed well and left up to the conglomerates looking to engage our wallets instead of develop our minds, it will lead down poor pathways.
There is a long way to go with this of course but I think it still requires a cautious approach considering the implications.
Seems you're familiar with the idea. However, as with many new ideas gamification is still so early in its lifespan that people might be using it wrong. To me it is an ideal, more than a method. As far as I know, there isn't any one way of doing "gamification", therefore I see it as an opportunity to bring what is great about childhood to adulthood in an acceptable manner. But in all honesty, I've never given it a try. No such projects so far in my career. Ideas are always easier than results.
Yes, it is very early on on but it has been mostly used thus far by the large social platforms to improve time on site numbers by hitting pleasure/reward centres and make people feel like they are achieving without actually doing anything of consequence. << Farmville
Of course, the application of it and the possibilities of it can be quite different yet, we seem to want to only use new tech concepts to mostly improve our entertainment experiences.
dear friend having kids is such an amazing gift, i do really love the way you deal with your topics, hope everything goes well with your daughter and hope she'll be a great writer the same as you and thank you for these amazing shots the reflection of light on the water looks gorgeous thank you buddy.
midnight photos are my favorite , thanks for sharing
Hey, i just had a quick look at your blog, don't power up 100% at the moment and instead go 50/50 and then buy Steem on the internal market. you will get more value for your posts that way.
I will , thank you for the advance mr @tarazkp
So nice
I like what you said about kids not setting out to learn. They're just curious and want to know things. As they follow the rabbit trails, they happen to pick up knowledge they can use to problem-solve.
That's cool you're getting a lot of time with your daughter. That, more than anything will help her to develop well. Caring parents who let her learn to be herself will help her more than most other things can.