A response to the TED talk given by Adora Svitak on the topic of “What Adults can Learn From Kids”.
According to Adora Svitak our world needs more “Childish” thinking. Thinking that has no limits, inspires aspirations, and beyond anything is hopeful. As Adora points out, this type of “childish” thinking comes easily to children, as they do not carry the burden of knowing prior defeat and past shortcomings.
It is this type of “childish” thinking that caused me to want to become a teacher in the first place. Fostering these children and encouraging them to continue to dream big, and to follow their hearts is of the utmost importance, because these children and their ideas and values are our future.
I thought that Adora brought up a good point when she addressed the fact that adults should start learning more from kids. I strongly believe that learning must go both ways, with teachers learning just as much from the students as the students are learning from them. It is important to truly realize that children have a lot to contribute to the learning environment, and can bring a lot to the table if we let them. It is not the teachers position to shut kids down and to marginalize their dreams and ambitions, but to work together with them to help them reach their full potential.
Adora’s Idea that the goal of educators should not be to simply have kids grow up and become like “us”, but to have kids grow up and become better than “us” is one that I will keep close to my heart as I set out on my journey to become an educator that yields generations that are better than the last.