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Should we ask kids to help us solving the real world problems? And if yes, how?
To answer here you really should see the World Peace Game talk first.
When in the comment section on the World Peace game I commented that the game could not possibly be realistic and be solvable that easily, protested that the kids are too young for that.
Well, Ken Robinson makes a good point that children are born creative (or genius) and are educated out of their creativity. And I remember reading that the number of gifted children is quite high for low age, but then as time goes by (and children age) the percentage drops.
So maybe we could let kids help us in solving the world problems. Not when they grow up, right now!
(I pity the parents of such a kid: -"go to bed at 7, and stop speaking about the UN that is making your mother uncomfortable ;-) ")
It could really be done, by presenting the problem in all its complexity to them, and ask them what would they do.
There is an experimental way of citizen jury where a random sample of the population is invited to hear about a problem. For 2 days they receive information from the experts, and then they vote on what should be done.
An example of what could be done here is to have a group of children, and have them hear from the experts what is the situation. Maybe it would work better if each children would try to take the point of view of one of the real world participant, and maybe to have more than one children per role. A sort of young advisor council.
It would be like the World Peace Game, but more complex, with more children for each role, and only trying to decide a single move.
Of course the long term effect psychological of this experience on them should be considered. It would surely make them mature faster. In an age where people feel they are not fully adult well in their thirties it might have some interesting side effects.
Genevieve Tran 50+
BUT what kids can do is inspire us to be like them. Their attitude to life is what we need to emulate. We know too much and have seen too much compared to them, and as a result, we tend to walk around in life out-of-love, uninspired, in-constant fear of being let down, again. Kids cry and wake up fresh the next morning. Whenever I travel somewhere new, or take on a new project out of my expertise or comfort-zone, I feel like a kid again. I have my adult wits about me, but suddenly I'm liberated from caring about being wrong or doing something non-sensibly. It liberates my sense of discovery and experiment. When I go back into the "real" world, I can clearly see the shackles. The effect wears off, so I need to always be trying new things, to regain that sense of heightened wonder---if only to get perspective on my "real" adult life. It's a great cycle.
Antony Ferrucci
I just finished reading every comment made. I have to admit I'm extremely surprised. The question was very simple: Should we (or should we not) ask children about 'mundane world' problems. Rather simple, eh? Should or shouldn't we ask kids X, Y, or Z? What I read was a bunch of stuff going off on tangents all over the place! Children should be allowed to play -- sorry, they're going to do that no matter what -we- think we're "doing". Children haven't got the 'vast worldly experience' we (supposedly) 'older & wiser' adults have -- so what? That's exactly why we're asking them, because, among many other things, they haven't yet 'learned' the lie of "you can't do that!" Etc. Etc. Etc. Et phooey!
Good Grief, people, Pietro simply asked 'should we ask kids for their opinions & ideas' .. that's it. =Then=, if we answered 'yes', he asked for ideas about -how- to go about doing that. To me it's very simple -- "Yes, No, Maybe" followed by 'how', =how=, after only two of the answers. But many of the answers -actually- pointed out some of the major obstacles to the über-question, which is =could= =WE= actually -listen- =and= =hear= what they said!
Personally, I think we'd do the very same thing as the UN delegates in Brazil did: listen politely, =maybe= even think about what was said .. and then go right back to what 'really matters' -- egos, power-trips, and money. It sucks. It's =S.T.U.P.I.D= beyond belief. It's harsh. But there it is.
But remember something =very= important -- the kids solved a Major World Crisis in -a- =week= .. because they weren't loaded down with Egos or Power-trips. If =nothing= else, think about =that= for a few moments.......
Karin de Roos
Mark Richards
Yes! But more than ask. Let them take over.
We should especially give them the keys to the nuclear warheads, the missiles, bombs, subs, aircraft, tanks. grenades, flame throwers. I suspect they will find good use for these, smelting sculpture for beautifying public parks, or creating tools for gardening. Take away all the keys and heave them. Take the adults back to the stone age, before all of us are forced to join them, or worse.
I should not worry that they might imprison those who run Guantanamo and all the other centres of fear projection and torture; those who forcibly mutilate a woman's clitoris, or slice off the end of a boy's penis. They shall just remove the knives, the bibles, the koran's, the "authority", and all the other nonsense and tell us, pointedly, that it is time to grow up and, reflecting back our "adult" language, to "get a life".
As in Montessori educational philosophy, it is not we who teach the children - it is they who teach us.
Start learning.
Kelo Kubu 500+
Just present them with what the real challenges we are facing as adults and let them be. Do not try to teach them first "how to come up with solutions". Given the time and space, they might just suprise you.
Salim Solaiman 50+
Firstly those problem also impacts them (as kid many times I heard elderly people discussing many issues thinking I have no idea as I am kid, but truth is I had idea & understood what they are talking about).
Secondly somewhere I read Einstein said at the age of 3 & half kids understand enough of Physics, so the must be able to understand those problem you are talking about to certain extent.
We can use internet to get them involve i.e. can have TED-KID as a platform to get ideas from Kids
Debra Smith 200+
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgjoKWWWiW4
Jamelle Sanders
Alex Smith
Justin Chong
Maria Morfin
Real world problems could be global warming, but also to have a safe environment to play in the neighborhood, for example. Word problems, local problems, family problems, etc. and children are aware of all that. They also are willing to help and live better. It's not true that by thinking and working on those problems children give away their childhood. It's amazing how they put so much joy in all the matters that interested them. They can clearly separate play from work. Both activities are very important for them.
The key is to let them participate in their own ways and not to expect that their partcipation should be like ours, acting as small adults, doing the things as we adults do. Also is very important to let them decide if they want to help or not.
I know this by experience because I've work with them on social participation projects for years. If you want to know more about this work in Mexico, you can go to: www.lajugarreta.org.mx
Thanks for this interesting debate!!
Lionel Felix 50+
We need to also get past this "everything my child does is magical" fetishisization of kids. As cute as your kid might be, as clever as she is, as good of a dancer / mathematician, etc, she isn't going to address the general council and blow them all away with a nugget of eternal wisdom. Kids are the future, in the future. For now, they just need to be allowed to play, learn in their own way at their own speed, and be fed nutritious food. That's enough of a challenge in it self outside of creating some sort of mechanism to allow them to opine on the future of humanity.
We, the adults of the world are empowered to fix what we have wrought. It is our responsibility and if we squander it by looking for outlets and other cultural and societal alchemy, we're merely frittering away opportunities to do the hard work, have the hard conversations, tell the hard truths, make the hard decisions and spend the hard money.
Children don't have the answers, but if we don't do something now, they will have to come up with answers to questions we conveniently ignored when we had the chance to do something. Now, lets get back to work.
Dominique deSalle 30+
Children are being heard and if you listen to what they say, it is refreshingly innocent and cute. Just like a child, my child, your child, everyone's child.
Children running for school leadership positions like to promise fellow students longer recesses and more dances and the favorite science experiment is still a foam-spouting volcano. So cute it could bring a tear to your eye.
This isn't good or bad. It's just the innocence and cuteness of children.
Their real and fleeting brilliance is unabashed joy.
Adults seem to have a need to diminish some of that joy, don't we? Why is that?
Debra Smith 200+
http://youtu.be/uZsDliXzyAY
Dominique deSalle 30+
Debra Smith 200+
Dominique deSalle 30+
Debra Smith 200+
Dominique deSalle 30+
Today she feels conferences like these are a waste of time. Media is a tool to be used and performing for and on this tool requires no special talent. Having been asked numerous times to repeat this spectacle, she has continually refused.
Her words and thoughts on the matter.
Severn hasn't stated that she regrets having done this show piece but she has no plans to do it again.
Adults are easily amused it seems and they love to see children perform.
She would rather work at grass-root levels as she feels this is a much more effective use of her time and energy. She reports that her own true insight and understandings arrived in her mid-twenties. Severn is now in her early thirties.
Pietro Speroni di Fenizio 20+
How interesting. I was greatly unimpressed by her talk, and now I feel she might agree with me. Maybe you made me reconsider her, despite of her past performance.
When I asked about asking kids to participate in the decision process I did not intend having kids getting on the desk and say "You all evil, now stop damaging the earth". I think to really be of help kids need to be empowered with information, and then help in the nitty gritty of the details of the problem. Severn's talk might be interesting to show how far we all are aware of the problem. But it is not helping a bit in finding the solutions.
Paul van Zoggel
As currently, they do hardly any of this, ofcourse they keep on doing the same as adults.
Jannette Hughes
sean shuai
Alan Bishop
Bren Cook
Gerry Mann
Working through problem solving with kids can provide kids with growth experiences and building a sense of community when their voices are heard on important problems.
Having said that, I also believe that adults have difficult times problem solving with other adults, and in those cases, adding kids to the mix would be counter-productive.
Modeling the apprentice-journeyman-master system might be a good way to include kids in problem solving - provided the journeymen and masters have the mindset that they are mentors and stewards as well.
Thank you for an interesting question.
Chuck Stoffle
Jim Moonan 30+
Mario El Khoury
Philosophers proved that we are born with the knowledge and that by the time, with the help of training, we learn how to use it. Being one a student councils myself, we consider asking our fellows and friends about their opinions, yet we rarely ask them about their thoughts and ideas (rarely does not mean never, we already did it many times). Because the fact of electing few students, that then become presenters of the school's committee.
Personally, I think that you weren't much precise. I cannot answer your question properly since you probably forgot to add a given and precise age for what "kids" are.
Juan Matias Schuettenberg
Mr Kebabsoup
For a lot of problems, we don't need the children to help because we know very well the answers. But these answers are only applicable in a game, because in real life they will demand a lot of sacrifices from each of us. And that sadly, is just not gonna happen.
I remember toward the end of the World peace game ted talk, he talks about that huge donation to a poor country to win the game. Of course it's cute that a kid is willing to give away all his fake monopoly bills, but if you do that in real life, people in your own country will get so mad at you, they will get you killed.
There's usually a huge gap between what needs to be done, and what we end up doing.
muriel gertrude salant nee harris
Red Maxwell 200+
Shouldn't we, an older generation of leaders. approach the world's toughest problems with the same humility? Shouldn't we be open to fresh, child-like ideas and approaches that are not jaded? Shouldn't we enact systems to be able to "hear" their feedback?
The power of crowdsourcing relies on the confluence of many, divergent perspectives. Why not have a humble enough approach to include the input of children?
Jim Moonan 30+
Yes, there are 15 year old Einsteins out there somewhere... They will make themselves known. But for the rest of the children (99.9 percent) ask them to join you in this great thing called learning and life.
Colleen Steen 500+
I think our priorities are to engage children in the process of "this great thing called learning and life", as you say. The World Peace Game, for example, does not seem to create expectations that children help solve world problems, at this moment. It is an educational game from which kids can learn to think, feel and make decisions.
As you say, probably 99.9 percent of the children are not Einsteins...or maybe with encouragement they could be:>) However, do we want to wait around until the Einsteins "make themselves known" and are willing to solve the world problems? Or, is it a good idea to get the 99.9 percent of our people engaged in the process? What better way can we "ask them to join you in this great thing called learning and life", then participating in this global game that is fun, entertaining, and teaches some very valuable lessons?
Jim Moonan 30+
Colleen Steen 500+
I also agree with your statement below that "good intentions are not always good ideas". Sometimes, HOW we do something, is as important, or more important than what we are doing.
Mr Kebabsoup
This world is theirs just as much as it is ours. And one day, it will be only theirs. I think it's better that we start early working together, to pass the world to them gently, put it in their hands. We shouldn't just toss it to them the day we die, saying "Here it is son, it's crappy but it's all we've got."
Jim Moonan 30+
As teachers, parents and as a society, our responsibility is to prepare children for the world they will inherit, but that does not mean we actually ask them to help solve the world's problems in any meaningful way! I am not implying that we shield them from the world's problems, simply saying that it is developmentally inappropriate to expect children to help solve world problems - and they don't want to!!
To speak to your comment that "the world is theirs as much as it is ours and that some day it will be only theirs" does not make sense.
Mr Kebabsoup
And otherwise, as I said in my other comment, you ask them for help, but you don't really expect them to do miracles, to sort everything out. You ask children for help to stimulate them. Develop their curiosity, get them interested in the entangled society we live in. You also show that their opinion counts and that they can make a difference. It's also a good opportunity for parents and children to get together to communicate.
You state it's developmentally inappropriate to expect children to help. Can you be more precise please? What are the advert consequences that will stem from it?
Jim Moonan 30+
Should we as adults be explaining the world to them and listening to them as they react to it? Emphatically YES! But not, in my opinion, asking them to help solve the world's problems. If for no other reason than it would be a misuse of our time with them.
Paul Gruenbacher
Creative? Kids pretty much act out and repeat what they see. They have very limited capactiy to do something original, because they have no background experience. Have you seen what a kid creates out of legos compared to what an adult is capable of doing with legos?
As for social empathy, you guys seem to forget the bullying that takes place in schools.
Have you read the essays that kids write for school? They're not exactly inspiring
Name a specific instance where a child did something truly significant that didn't involve explaining a fantasy to a doling parent.
Mr Kebabsoup
And I think you're a bit too demanding toward the children.... Write inspiring essays? Do significant things? Even 80% of adults will never have the chance to do that kind of stuff in their whole life!
Kids are not dumb! They are just highly unexperienced. Which is also a good thing because they don't have their opinions and prejudices already carved in stone.
We should ask the children for help, but not because somehow we expect them to find the solution to our problems right away. We need to ask them for help to encourage them to communicate with us, show that their opinion counts, show that you trust and believe in them, believe in their potential.
But of course it depends the age we're talking about here. At much younger ages, some mud puddles playing, hitting-trees-with-branches, terrorizing insects moments are indeed necessary.
Colleen Steen 500+
"Kids pretty much act out and repeat what they see". That's a very good indication that perhaps some adults need to change behaviors to give the kids something better to model. Kids will often live up to the expectations of the adults around them.
I agree Ruining Wang, that we need to encourage them, communicate with them, listen to their opinions, show that we trust and believe in them and their potential. We can influence kids by 'being" what we want to see. We are not going to positively influence them by putting them down.
clay blasdel
zaynab alquraishi
Stephen Woolley
Dominique deSalle 30+
The generally hedonistic and hegemonic 18 to 55 year olds would relinquish control, close their mouth, open their ears, pay the taxes; do the work they're told to thereby allowing these two 'book-end' groups to focus on making better decisions for our world.
Before you get all sulky and pout because your fragile ego might be bruised, think for a minute.
How might children and the elderly collectively view a proposal to go to war?
Both groups would quickly dispatch this as a really stupid idea and promptly proceed to enjoy a walk/play in the park, plant/pick a garden/flowers, pet/walk a dog/cat, enjoy a glass of milk/tea, colour/paint a picture or even take a nap.
Guns would be made of wood, tanks would hold water and bombs would just smell and make us giggle.
That status-craving automobile is way cool only because it's bright shiny red. That over-sized opulent condo/house earns its two thumbs up awesomeness based solely on its tire swing.
Try to imagine the possibilities. Non hormone-driven decision-making. Priceless.
Would this ever happen? Not in a million years (a very conservative estimate).
The 18 to 55 year olds have the power, crave the power and are not likely ever to relinquish control. What would be their motivation?
The elderly might agree, if only to protect the children from these well-meaning but misguided adults who somewhat jealously view play time as wasted time. Why do they have this need to see children in business suits?
Paul van Zoggel
I agree to get inspired by children how they solve challenges in games. Computer Games are more and more connected to their real world, so we just need to observe... and let them play.
There are good teaching methods lost and new teaching methods discovered, we just need to find a way to bring the 'best' together....
Dominique deSalle 30+
Tudor Daniel