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Cale Sears

Curator, TEDxCoMo

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Why aren't kids (+ young adults) given more credit?

Young people are full of ideas, plain and simple. I feel like many times someone with a great idea is cast aside because of their age, they just get pushed into this category of "child" with the stereotype that they're unknowledgeable and naive. Sometimes we need a little of that childlike belief that our problems CAN be solved. At the very least it makes the world seem a bit brighter.

So what can a young person do to have their ideas or solutions to problems taken more seriously?

What are some ways they could get creative?

Topics: creativity education inspiring youth
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    Lee Wilkinson 20+

    • +4
    Dec 22 2011: There are two things in life which seem to be a dilemma: when we are young we rail against the wisdom of the generation ahead of us and when we are that generation we rail against the idea of embracing the dreams of those who follow in our footsteps. Were we able to embrace the qualities in each, think how much we might achieve. The wisdom of age the passion of youth.

    • Mike Roberts

      • +1
      Dec 23 2011: I think your comment also touches upon the idea of how we should be educating our young; right now, they are taught from the earliest moments to copy us in order to learn. We teach them how to speak, to read, to do math, to do everything seemingly, by modelling it for them. That's a great start, but it limits their behaviour to merely being a mirror of ours. Therefore, they don't get to move out of that modelling paradigm for a long time, if ever.
      What we SHOULD be doing is teaching children critical thinking skills from the earliest possible moment they can effectively implement them, so that we ARE benefitting from their passion and their lack of entrenchedness in the "ways things must be done". In that way, we ARE seeing new perspectives and ways of combining 'data', ways that will drive us forward.
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      Jamie Lee Mcfadden

      • 0
      Dec 23 2011: Lee is absolutely correct we have the best of both fighting each other. It seems ego on both parts hinders this process.

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