I ask this question not to provoke but to engage you as a parent.

I want parents across the world to be asking these kinds of questions. You see I have a background with 16yrs as a high school teacher and I am also a father to two young children. I get to see both sides to the deal of raising children and nurturing their talents.

However, that said, my question above is actually in two parts. One part is simply asking the question as a society and the other is asking it of you as a parent. To me, both work hand in hand with one another and all too often I see children’s dreams and ambitions crushed due to a lack of understanding of where a child is at in life. They are pushed beyond where they are comfortable. They are expected to fulfil the expectations of others (usually overbearing parents, sound familiar?).

Sometimes it takes a child a little longer than either a parent or a teacher expects, as a result the child never flourishes to their full potential. They become either burned out way too early or simply lose interest in what they had originally set out to accomplish.

As a society of educators and parents we need to identify that each of our children are different to what we were like ourselves growing up. They are not faced with the same sorts of challenges as to what we were back in the day when we were finding our feet in life. Each child has very different demands placed on them in today’s e-commerce society that we as adults simply never faced as children ourselves.

The very fact that they have access to a computer on a daily basis to find out how to do just about anything boggles the mind. Their capacity to learn is completely different to what we were able to do as children. As a result, we need to understand this and embrace it.

An example of what I am meaning can be described when I came across a Youtube video of a teacher out of Los Angeles “teaching” fractions. He did this as a rapper. If I have lost you already then my point is made. If however, you are still with me, you will understand the brilliance of this. A teacher Rapping, to music, while teaching fractions.

My kids picked up the concepts of fractions basically in 2mins compared that to the many miserable nights I took as a youngster, with my mom screaming at me out of her frustrations.

This is what I am meaning folks. Your child needs to be given opportunities to learn their own way, at their own pace, and with the love and support of you, as their parents. By doing this and understanding this ideology, I believe we will all be able to create a bond of love and learning between us parents and our children.

By taking these simple steps, I believe, it will result in them being able to fulfil their potential and provide opportunities to live their dreams and become tomorrow’s leaders.

If you like this then please retweet it thanks. Lets spread the word……

Adrian M King