Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
Kids have a lot on their plates these days. In addition to learning and extra-curricular activities, children are facing mental health challenges brought on by a myriad of circumstances. Bullying, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts plague children as young as 8. Social skills are being preached, but not taught. “Media affected” and “media damaged” are new phrases used by school personnel to describe children. We need to find a way to make life simple and enjoyable again. The Student Aptitude Assessment can help!
Individuals are unique. Some people are fish, while some are frogs, others are giraffes, and some are monkeys. School teaches how to climb a tree, but only the monkeys can take that information and apply into real life situations. Instinct is a pattern of behavior that you are born with. Fish need to swim, frogs eat flies, and giraffes eat from the tall trees. Over 75% of children lose out on what they need to learn because of the way educators teach.
Teachers have unique traits that allow them to be successful in their field. Teachers are highly organized and develop systems that are duplicatable. They are also motivated to find out a lot of information on subjects. They have the natural talents to develop and implement curriculum as well as research and explain subject matter. Teachers value students who fit within the same framework: rewarding conformity, obedience, and a desire to research and learn. Their unique set of instinctive talents only match about 15-25% of their students.
Children with the opposite talent set end up being labeled problem kids and are made to feel that they don’t measure up. It’s not breaking news that children learn differently. Everyone has heard of different learning styles. Teachers have researched all of the different styles and have incorporated them into their lessons, but something is still missing.
There are three parts of the mind: thinking (knowledge/skills) feeling (preferences/personality) and doing (will/instinct/way you take action).
Most of the emphasis in school is placed on “thinking”. Everything is geared to increasing knowledge, skills, reason, and ultimately IQ. The cognitive part of the brain tells you what you CAN do.
Recently, schools have seen a need to address “feelings”. The onslaught of mental health issues at schools (bullying, anxiety, depression, suicide) is forcing schools to look at and process emotions, desires, attitudes, and values. The affective part of the brain tells you what you WANT to do.
The third part of the brain, conative, addresses what you WILL do. The conative part of the brain is where your innate instincts lie. The Kolbe Index evaluates the natural talents you were born with and identifies how you take action.
Everybody’s unique “way” of doing things should be identified and valued equally. Teams need specific, individualized members to perform at the highest level. If a football team had the 20 best kickers in the NFL, they would not be taking home any championship rings. You need a diverse skill set on the team to fulfill all the different tasks needed to win.
Identify your child’s unique way of solving problems. Help your child to bring out the best in their natural, instinctive talents. Celebrate their way and give them the freedom to be themselves.