YOUR CHILD WILL NEVER COMPETE IN THE GLOBAL MARKET UNLESS YOU DO THIS -- The global marketplace is expanding at a phenomenal rate. Yet, the American education system is moving at the pace of molasses to meet the ever-changing needs. Presently, the United States sits at the top rank of the world’s economy, but it isn’t a comfortable position. By 2020, everything may change – emerging markets are set to become a pivotal part of global economics, and China is on track to tackle the US and take the top spot from our fumbling hands. What does all of this mean? It means that if our education system doesn’t change with the times, our children will no longer have the ability to compete with the strength we once had in the global market. 1. Competition will be stronger 2. The dollar will be weaker 3. Unemployment will be higher But what can we do about it? Educate, educate, educate... Until something is done about the American school systems, nothing will change. But rather than wait on public policy (which usually takes years if not decades to change), smart parents can take their child’s education into their own hands. This doesn’t necessarily mean home school, at least not in the strictest sense of the word. A supplement to organized education could give tomorrow’s leaders the foothold needed to succeed today. This isn’t as hard as it sounds, and could offer your child the edge they need to hold their own as financial and geographical boundaries continue to bleed into each other. Here is a quick look at the areas where our children need the most reinforcement in order to become successful competitors in the global economy. 1. Free thinking The US education system does not encourage free thinking. We teach that there is only ONE way to skin a cat – exactly the sort of thinking preventing students from truly excelling. Many parents have recognized this problem and have started taking their student’s education into their own hands. It is many of those students who are proving to be the forward-thinkers American entrepreneurism desperately needs. Sandi Krakowski, a millionaire mompreneur, has successfully home-schooled three boys. Her youngest has become a wunderkind businessman because of it. Tomorrow’s entrepreneurs will be the kids who learn to think freely, and look outside the box for global solutions to international business problems so they can create the business models of the future. 2. Creativity The US education system is working hard to stomp out creativity. Students in the classroom aren’t encouraged to think “differently” or to be unique. Teachers are working so hard to spoon-feed answers and teach rote memorization, rather than teaching creative problem solving and concept mastery. This means students are busy memorizing without understanding. This isn’t the teachers’ fault, but it is evidence of the broken system they’re required to run. Supplemental homeschooling will give your student additional opportunities to learn and grow beyond the SmartBoard. Their new creative skills will serve them well when it comes to future business. Being able to solve global market problems in new and innovative ways will give your child an edge above the ever-increasing global competition. 3. Expertise The US education system wants “well-rounded” students who do well in many areas, but prevent them from becoming a true expert in any. Even undergrad college level education pushes the “Jack of all trades” mindset. Yet those students who find their niche early, then master it, are the ones who often become most successful. Think about it, do you want a well-rounded doctor, or a doctor who knows everything there is to know about his field? Pliability is an ingredient to success, but it’s niche-specific mastery that makes you better than your competition. In international schools, children are tested early to know where their true talents may lie. Then, they are directed to those courses that are most suited for them. These are the cultures who successfully groom their children for entrepreneurism. And it’s those children who are best prepared for the new global economy. By grooming your child to think freely, to be creative and to drive them toward one field with a supplemental homeschooling education, you can prepare themto love learning, excel in one area, and compete in the global market in a way that makes them invaluable to those seeking the precision of their skill set. How to provide supplemental homeschooling without exhausting yourself or your child? 1. Make learning an every moment activity. You don’t have to create worksheets, labs or hands-on activities for every day (although, one day a week may be enough). Look for ways to turn even the ordinary into a chance to learn. 2. Talk to your child. Discuss topics and get them thinking. Let them solve problems on their own and accept their solutions to the problem without voicing your own restrictions on how they should do it. 3. Encourage hobbies (and even entrepreneurism) in their areas of interest. Encourage your child to stick with them until the end. And don’t promote multiple activities. Constantly changing hobbies and activities is part of the Jack of All Trades ideology and won’t lead to niche-mastery. Help your child to focus, think freely and to be creative and you’ll hand him the keys to the future world market. How can you incorporate learning into your every day activities to encourage your child to think outside the box? The US system encourages much more creativity and free thinking than any other system I know of (I was educated half in US, half elsewhere). What it’s lacking, severely, is emphasis on math, science, logic, engineering. To some degree is the result of the emphasis on well-roundedness that you mentioned. But mostly it’s just the cultural mindset here — kids are to be coddled and not pressured which means that unless they voluntarily take interest in the harder subjects, those will get ignored. US students study the same math and science subjects two years later than students elsewhere. The balance is restored to some degree in US universities (which, unlike the US K-12, are some of the best in the world), but by then it’s far too late for most students. Students in US have way more flexibility in what they study, way less homework, and way more free time (including non-academic extra-curricular activities) than any other developed country. No doubt this freedom does have some positives but the overall result is that we increasingly rely on imported (or off-shored) brains instead of homegrown ones. Creating and free thinking are great, but if you want to be a competent engineer or scientist you first have to put in a decade (or two) of hard learning of all the basics. There is not a ton of room for free thinking in finiding pH levels, or area under the curve, or current through a circuit. In US we like to skip right to creativity and free thinking without first laying down the difficult and boring foundation. Both are necessary, but in US the balance needs to be restored not to more creativity, but to more fundamentals.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 19:48:30 +0000