Autonomous Thinkers

As an educationist, it is my fundamental belief that all children are born with the ability to interpret ideas and information depending upon their exposure to a limited or extended horizon.

Thinking is a skill that needs to be developed in the early years to establish the child as a Thinking Individual. Children need to be taught to value their capacity to think and use it as a successful tool in their journey to discovery.

To make this possible, they need to explore their thoughts frequently, understand the relevance of words to communicate these thoughts effectively and be able to justify their strong stance or views. 

Children, who are nurtured in a tolerant and opinion friendly environment, grow up to become confident and whole people.

The skill to reason is primary to learning. Therefore it is extremely important to inculcate the right attitudes that lead to a sound base. The most important attribute to reason is undoubtedly “Curiosity”. The urge to find out. The excitement to embark upon a new adventure. Curiosity must be accommodated with an open minded dialogue and by providing a platform to examine the diversity of thought.

Once the mind starts to investigate, it leads up to the next level of reason that is “Respect for Evidence”. Here children meet up with the lessons of acceptance and logical progression in arguments. At this point, it is most important to communicate without losing the focus. All the space that is required for a fair and comprehensive study and interaction should be provided to the children maintaining the facts and realities.

Sometimes, while in the process to make sense, the road to success meets up with a dead end. It creates uncertainty and leaves the child with many clues but no confirmation of the truth. This can be a very frustrating and demotivating process. In this scenario, it is important to create a ladder of achievement that indicates a certain level of success attained with each step. The belief that success lies in the journey and it is important to applaud any amount of growth.

Children imbibe pictures from their environment and surroundings. They accept them to be the only facts and as soon as they experience a different perspective, they fall into an internal conflict. The argument can leave them empty and disillusioned if not handled with sensitivity and the tools of reflection with honesty. Critical analysis or reflection is a character building tool that boosts the thinking power of an individual. It indicates a celebration of the sound mental growth.

Perseverance is another key to the kingdom of success. It encompasses the positive energies of a child to the faith in finding out the unknown. Here again, the significance of the teacher or parent is unmatched. The support that pushes the child forward in the forest of discovery can very well absorb the patience and determination to come to some conclusion. Any miscalculation in this attitude can hinder the growth of a child as a thinking individual. There is fear of developing a quitter.

Reason is monumental in nature. It can be very animated or at the same time completely apathetic. In both cases, it is up to the child to use his/her imagination to help others understand the promoted logic. This is a creative process that surprisingly leads to many undiscovered paths and can lay down the foundation for a complete new standpoint. It is considered to be the only true potential that can help strengthen the quality of thinking or rather the ability to think beyond the facts.

I believe as teachers, we come across many children in the classroom who amaze us with their capacity to think differently or in a unique manner. The lessons are much more fun, when they challenge the idea presented.

I read an interesting story in a Teacher’s Guide where one of the parent’s was telling a teacher:

“My son was almost two and we were on the street for a walk. As we stood round the corner, a man wearing a soldier’s costume appeared on the road seated quite proudly on his trotting horse. My son got really excited and shouted, look daddy, there’s a big dog! I immediately responded, it’s not a dog son, it’s a horse. And to this day I regret having jumped to that conclusion. I wish that I had investigated his thoughts a little more to get a glimpse of his world inside that had lead him to believe the animal to be a dog.”

It is indeed a great lesson to have been shared. Often as teachers and parents, we jump to conclusions closing budding questions and probabilities to new inventions. We find it convenient as it saves us time and wins us some pattern of obedience. Our responses mostly highlight authority and rigidity.

Thinking or making reason is linked to some form of emotion at the core. The motivation to learn comes from striking a balance between the logic and the emotional drive to prove it right or wrong.

Therefore, to transfer these ‘thinking skills’ to our children, it is important to allow them to start thinking for themselves, exploring their minds and hearts to become autonomous thinkers.