One of our largest lifetime expenses is education for our kids. However most schools are now focussing on academic credentials only. The schools in turn argue that parents only demand excellent grades instead of a well rounded education. The world has since changed. Knowledge is now a Google search away. The self education movement is rapidly growing online. In the future classrooms are going to disappear or become drastically transformed. Memorisation of facts in now so outdated.
The critical skill is now solving problems by asking the right questions and using the right tools. Our current education system doesn’t really build these skills. A doctor who leverages artificial intelligence and data science to diagnose a disease is going to become more valuable than a traditional doctor.
So there is a need to rethink how we are educating our kids. In a bid to stimulate creative thinking in my little girls I perform “experiments” with them. I bought two books called “How to be an Engineer” and “How to be a Scientist” from Aristoc. Every weekend we identify an experiment from the books and we recreate it at home.
I try and explain the principles as much as I can. In turn I probe for understanding of the principles. Of course my eldest daughter is only five years old and I doubt she fully grasps the Engineering principles. But the important thing is triggering creative inquiry and the learning process. The girls really love the experiments and look forward to doing them.
If I succeed in teaching them how to learn on their own, think creatively and independently to solve problems, then I know that they will never lack money in their adult lives.
And that is the most valuable inheritance I can leave them.
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