This Simple Illustration Will Help You Teach Your Children How to Learn
It goes without saying that we want our children to be able to learn well.
We want them to read books, decipher maps, play the piano, and study martial arts—all so that they become increasingly able to steer the direction of their lives.
We also want them to learn the wisdom and perspectives of other people, weaving themselves into the world as members of communities. Furthermore, they must learn about themselves, why they make the choices they make, and how they can be their best. There is an entire rabbit hole of knowledge available to us once we know how to dig for it. So how can we effectively teach our children to be lifelong learners?
To learn effectively, we must have access to the resources we need, whether that be media or mentors, and we must approach those resources in a spirit of curiosity.
Let’s look at how you can help your children in both of these areas.
Seek Resources
Resources can take many forms, from books and websites to teachers and coaches, and even physical objects like works of art or architecture. Teaching children to find and use these resources begins earlier than many people imagine.
It starts with the bedtime story. When we sit with our young children every night and turn the pages of Goodnight Moon, we are not just telling a story. We are teaching our children that books exist—that this resource is available in the world.
Seeking resources may start with an expedition to the library to find books about dogs. Later, it might mean finding a bicycle repair manual to get a bike back on the road.
That first board book experience is the first step in teaching resourcefulness to your child. It is never too late to read to your child, nor teach them to seek resources.
Learning does not end with reading, of course. There are so many resources from which we can learn. We can visit museums and historical monuments right in our communities to discover a wealth of knowledge. We can travel to the primary source of information, taking a hike to better understand native plants of the Appalachians or kayaking down the C&O Canal to better understand historical trade routes.
We can talk to grandparents, doctors, professors, entrepreneurs—any expert in any field. In the best of cases, such people can turn into something more than purveyors of information; they can become mentors who inspire us to our greatest levels of achievement and open our minds to ideas we had not dreamed possible.
There is no limit to the ways we can find answers to our curiosities.
What’s most fun is that the more we know about something, the more excited we are to know even more about it. That flame, once lit, will never go out, given a continuous feed of resources and the constant tending to keep it alight.
Be Curious and Humble
Our goal is to raise children who approach learning with an “empty cup,” ready to receive wisdom from a variety of sources. This concept is perhaps best illustrated by the old story about a Zen master, his student, and an empty cup.
One day, a student arrived in a revered Zen master’s studio, apparently eager to begin his lessons. The Zen master tried to give a lesson, but the student would not stop talking about himself and the things he already knew.
Finally, the Zen master grew silent and began to pour tea into an empty cup. To the student’s astonishment, he kept pouring, long after the cup was full. The rest of the tea simply ran to the ground, of no use to anyone. “You are like this cup,” said the Zen master. “There is no room in you for learning; anything I say will just flow over the edge, and you will gain nothing. You must be an empty cup if you are to learn.”
Merely being in the presence of a master is not enough to guarantee learning. We must also be ready to receive the teaching. To receive teaching, be humble. Be willing to stop talking and be unknowledgeable in order to listen to and assimilate new information.
We must also have a curiosity for new information—a real thirst for knowledge. All of the resources in the world will do us no good if we do not desire to make use of them.
As parents and teachers, we must cultivate a craving curiosity in our children. We must help them see how valuable learning is for creating functional and fulfilling lives; in a sense, we need to sell them on the concept. It is through our enthusiasm for learning that we convey the message: life is like a treasure hunt with untold wonders to explore.