Meu Filho, Teu Futuro

by Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek

Como criar uma criança bem-sucedida, segundo a psicologia educacional? O que podem os pais fazer para ajudar os filhos a terem sucesso?
O segredo está no desenvolvimento de seis capacidades específicas: os Seis C. Mais importante do que memorizar é saber comunicar, colaborar, apreender conteúdos, ter pensamento crítico, inovação criativa e confiança para arriscar. Então, sim, estarão prontos para os desafios laborais do século XXI.
Roberta Michnick Golinkoff e Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, uma professora de ciência cognitiva e uma psicóloga educacional, passaram as últimas três décadas a estudar a forma como as crianças apreendem, retêm e utilizam o conhecimento, e desenvolveram um método científico para educar crianças «brilhantes».
Este livro vai ajudar os pais e educadores a ultrapassar as ansiedades e a vislumbrar o que verdadeiramente funciona e permite às crianças alcançar inteiramente o seu potencial — intelectual e socialmente — neste mundo complexo e global do século XXI.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Education, Psychology, Science, Childrens, Self Help

284 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2016

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I should probably start out by saying, that I am probably not the target audience for this book. Not because I am an allstar parent (I literally let my son get kicked in the head yesterday by a grown woman), or so brilliant myself, but because what this book is really about is the state of American students and the skills we are and, more urgently, are not helping them develop. Because of my work, this is a topic I spend a lot of time reading and thinking about (and a lot of time internalizing about - was I really ready for college and career? If I was, wouldn't I know what I wanted to be when I grow up by this point?), and I found this book to be really shallow.

The authors spend a lot of time talking about the "6 Cs" or the set of soft skills that people need to develop to be successful in life. These aren't a terribly controversial list (they're things like critical thinking and confidence), and it's similarly non-controversial to suggest that our schools aren't doing a great job at this. That being said, the picture they paint isn't terribly nuanced. It doesn't effectively portray the diversity in the American school system, focusing far more on its failures than efforts toward success, nor does it effectively portray the context of unqualified teachers, students who arrive in the classroom already far behind, and Ed schools that churn out graduates without any accountability. It focuses a LOT on scripted curricula, which, yes, is a thing but isn't THE thing and if they were to vanish today our worst schools wouldn't suddenly be filled with teachers who are free to finally Michelle Pfeiffer the hell out of those poor, poor kids. While the book tries to be solutions oriented (especially for parents who likely are its target audience), to me, the balance seemed off. The authors seemed to devote far more time to sharing diffuse anecdotes that sometimes seemed only tangentially related to the skills they were meant to exemplify that concrete action steps for anyone actually interested in increasing these skills.

I 100% agree that the content of this book is important, and I don't think the authors were necessarily wrong about much of anything. But I also don't think it was terribly effective, at least not for anyone who has spent any time at all thinking about these things.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that reinforces what I have already read about, incorporate into my educational values, and try to use in my professional practice as a school librarian (teacher). My school library colleagues will already be familiar with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills frequently mentioned in this book, and they will recognize the 6Cs (collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation, and confidence) as the concepts on which our AASL national standards for students are based. So, none of this is new. The utility of the book for me is in the framework the authors provide - with a chart - that suggests that these "soft," but essential skills can be seen at four levels of mastery, and in the examples they provide that help to differentiate among what the levels look like. The book is written to provide suggestions for educators and parents about how to help children (and adults) develop these skills.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one of those parenting books that really would've been better as a pamphlet. I totally agree with the authors that content isn't the most important component of learning, especially in a changing world, and I appreciated their input on how to find more learning opportunities for our children (and ourselves!).

[Naomi Krokowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creativity and problem-solving skills are the critical ideas highlighted by many of the scientists I have already read and revere (Carol Dweck, Elena Bodrova & Deborah Leong, Vygotsky) and in Becoming Brilliant, Golinkoff and Hirsh-Pasek quote their work to make the case that stressing learning facts and content is the wrong approach for educators and parents. Science has shown repeatedly that children learn best through play. Actually, so do adults. Successful schools and workplaces will emphasize collaboration and the "soft skills" needed to come up with new solutions.
I didn't necessarily learn lots of new things, and I felt a bit like the choir being preached to, but I enjoyed geeking out with this book.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good, if (to me anyway) obvious information in here. Mostly it made me a little depressed that our schools can't keep up with what's important and that we still focus so much on memorizing facts that students can literally access at any time as opposed to how to work with people, which I think kids today are lacking in a major way due to the fact that they have constant access! But there are a few good pointers for parents in here and how to think about where you are on these 6 Cs they've come up with. So... how can we fix the school system? I want more action items for that!

[Courtney Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for a new parent trying to figure out what my kid needs. Will need to re-read it when LO is about 3, though. Still, good. Distilled research into a popular format. Easy to read.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

The authors make up a catchy slogan called the 6 C's: Collaboration, Communication, Content, Critical Thinking, Creative Innovation, and Confidence, and spend a lot of time discussing each of these and their "sub-levels." I agree with a lot of the concepts and techniques discussed, but the approach was valueless and Godless. Even when discussing countries that expressly try to inculcate moral values into their educational methods, the authors ignore this educational priority and try to explain other reasons why such countries succeed in educating their children.
These are the same authors who wrote "Einstein Never Used Flashcards: Why Our Children Need to Play More and Memorize Less." As if American schools are failing because students spend too much time trying to memorize their multiplication tables. What rubbish. Ask people like Dr. Ben Carson about memorization -- he did extremely poorly in math until his mother made him sit down and memorize his multiplication tables, after which he immediately excelled.

There are some good nuggets, though. The authors talk about countries that "adopt a teacher/scholar model of education in which the teachers views themselves as learning alongside the children. In other words, teachers are no longer tasked with pouring knowledge into the children's empty heads; they are constructing knowledge together with the children."

What I think is funny is that the authors never mention "homeschool" even once. But most of the techniques they advocate are implemented in homeschools all over the country. Parents increasingly recognize the shortcomings of public schools, many of which are highlighted in this book, and pull their kids out to do the teaching themselves, using (again) many of the techniques highlighted in this book. Homeschooling mothers very much adopt the teacher/scholar model of education referenced above and thoroughly enjoy learning with their children.

One interesting concept discussed in the book is the "flipped classroom" where "students listen to lectures at home and do what used to be 'homework problems' together in class. Rather than enforcing student passivity . . . , everyone gets to talk in class and operate on the material. This puts the responsibility for learning squarely on the shoulders of the students; it changes a passive, sit-and-listen environment to a creative and dynamic class in which student participation is the norm and not the exception."

Near the end of the book when the authors said "drop the idea that learning only happens in schools and in textbooks," I thought of what Mark Twain said: "Don't let schooling interfere with your education." Amen. But let's not adopt the idea that learning only happens when at play or when socializing.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading Becoming Brilliant by Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, PhD and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, PhD. I think it is an important book for parents and educators to read. Here are some of the main points that stood out to me as I summarize my notes for each chapter.
Collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creativity and confidence have been identified through scientific research as key skills all children need to meet their future with success. “If scientist do not share what we know, the void will be filled by those with little experience or with values that are more in line with the market place than with the betterment of children.” p 8.

Success has been redefined in our new Age of Information – how will we broaden our vision and expand our educational environments so these key skills are more likely to flourish?

Do a greenfield experiment with my classroom – what would I build if there were no constraints?

Encourage real thinking with high doses of creativity and innovation. Build a classroom environment that fosters playful exploration, collaboration and problem solving.

It is important to understand the necessity of building “soft skills” in schools. “Children are far more than the grades they earn.” p 55.

The more self-control and social competence expected, the more likely it will show. When practiced through collaborative projects an identified through reflective discussions these skills develop and grow.

Effective communication fuels collaboration. Effective communication is built on careful listening with attention to empathy.

Information is everywhere and easy to find. Learning is not about content or knowing a bit about lots of things. Learning is gaining a deepening understanding of the process of acquiring, interpreting and applying information so that the learner is transformed.

Critical thinking is key to understanding and making informed decisions that will lead to new opportunities.

Make space for play, for reflections, for what-ifs, and what’s next and for dreaming of possibilities.
You have to be willing to try. You have to be willing to fail. You have to examine the process and move forward – engage, persist, envision, express, reflect – experiment, hypothesize, questions revise – cycle through again.

Creators of effective learning environments embrace the responsibility for nurturing growth in all the essential skills (the 6C’s) required for success. They attend to the growth of the whole child.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a critical read for all. The six Cs have such implications for improving not just our educational curricula but our day to day interactions with children wherever they are.

[Zach Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book by two experts in education. My one year old is still too tiny for me to apply most of thier insights, which are largely geared towards school age children.

This book has just as much, if not more, to say to policy makers and teachers. Though I daresay must teachers already know that children are poorly served by the politicians emphasis on standardized tests to evaluate performance.

Two major themes of the book: 1. emphasis on standardized testing is bad and generally counterproductive to deep learning. 2. Children need to loosely structured play in order to encourage deep learning.

Asking children questions is better than giving them answers. Parents should encourage and model problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration, calculated risk taking and acceptance of failure.

The arts are important.

I'm convinced that we should eliminate standardized testing in grade school and figure out smarter ways to evaluate student and teacher performance.

[Lauren Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, the reason I didn’t rate this book higher was because of my negative experience with the audiobook. The audiobook (at least the version I had through my local library) only had one loooooong chapter, which made it difficult for me to understand where a chapter started or ended. I also got really annoyed at the editors method of including personal stories from the authors by saying, “one of us can remember” or “one of us knows” or “one of us has a child…” JUST TELL ME WHICH ONE SO IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE A GUESSING GAME!

As to the actual context of the book, I had originally saved this book several years ago as an anticipation for ideas on how to be a better parent. I’m not a parent just yet, but reading this book in my current period of life inspired me to try different techniques on how to teach my current Sunday school classes of tweens and teens. I appreciated the push, but wish there would have been more examples maybe of how these principles might be applied outside of a traditional formal education teacher/student context.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

In what may be one of my "books of the year," these two learning researchers and their publishers pull off the bait-and-switch of science: give a Tiger Mom title to a book that's actually very balanced and sensible.

The authors get away with it by redefining what "successful" means--able to get a a job in our increasing competitive and knowledge-based economy? Yes, but also what about forming meaningful relationships? Finding new things to be curious and engaged with, both at work and at home? To capture skills for success, they identify the 6 "C"s--one of which is, indeed, content. You do need to just know some stuff, and even know it by rote so that it's automatic. If you don't have to think consciously about how to spell every word, you can move on to considering the meaning; if you don't have to work out every multiplication, you can get to the high-order equations behind it.

But in addition to content, the authors add so-called soft skills like cooperation and communication that are increasingly important to the work human beings do in the knowledge economy. And it turns out that flashcards are no way to learn these most important skills.

[Sepideh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a book on educational philosophy by a couple of child psychologists that my spouse ordered when he felt like he was not doing a good job motivating and educating a child. The authors are promoting the six-C method to education, but it really doesn't matter what the Cs are. Their approach teaches children skills like creativity, confidence, and perseverance over rote memorization. The modern classrooms they were envisioning were places with chairs that required the students to sit and do worksheets and memorize facts. One of the schools that they really enjoyed was a Reggio Emilio workshop. I did not believe that the educational method that they were proposing was that much different than Montessori.

The book included hints that a lot of parents have probably seen elsewhere like praising children for effort instead of praising them for intrinsic traits like being smart.

[Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was OK. It points to "science" for legitimacy but is very light on actual science. There are very few rigorous scientific studies referenced and many of those that are referenced are quite dated. There are many more references to pop science, such as Malcolm Gladwell's books - so take the recommendations here with a grain of salt.

That said, the authors do paint a compelling picture of a more modern and relevant set of skills for children to develop. These are the 6 "C"s: Collaboration, Communication, Content (what is typically taught/tested in today's schools), Critical Thinking, Creative Innovation, and Confidence. Most of the book is spent describing these "C"s and their sub-levels of development. I would have found the book much more useful if it devoted more time to strategies for developing each quality.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a while to get into this book, but the message is rather simple - we need to advance in the 6Cs (Collaboration, Communications, Content, Critical Thinking, Creative Innovation, and Confidence) to be successful. The book is dense, can be somewhat repetitive, but the concepts make sense. The authors do a good job explaining how today's ever increasing connected, technological, and over-scheduled world is having an impact on what they view as critical elements to success and what we, as parents, educators, and those with any influence or impact on children, can do about it (frankly, some of the practical tips are equally relevant to adults). This will perhaps become an even more important and impactful read as we move farther away from letting kids just be kids and play.

[Penelope · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as part of a book discussion for a work project. The content of the book was not necessarily bad. However the delivery was poor, the writers often assumed certain things about how “most” classrooms worked, or how “many” parents were buried in their smart phones, and insure of how to help their students succeed. The writing seems antagonist towards teachers. In both my experiences as a teacher and a parent is that many teachers are working to incorporate these ideas, and are no longer teaching for the majority of their time as a “Sage on the Stage.” As most “experts” in education, they could benefit from spending time listening and learning from teachers rather than writing about them.

[Kian.ting · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book I learned many valuable parenting tips from the book and most of all I learned what I am doing wrong when I am telling my son off when he was playing up or when he is persistently trying to do something that I don't approve of, from the book I learned that I need to instead tell him that his persistence is good and that he needs to channel it to something else that is more productive. I have also learned the alternative way to teach him new things and teach him how to learn. I highly recommend this book to any parents who wish to learn how to learn so that they can teach it to their children.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but it did take am a long time to get through (almost 4 months). It has a lot, I mean a lot, of research cited within the book. I like the focus on non-cognitive aspects rather than the old mantra of "Content is King" and high stakes testing.

Each of the six "C's" (Collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation, confidence) they reference has levels 1-4. They go through examples of what each level looks likes.

I felt that it focused quite a bit on the teacher/school perspective rather than a parent perspective. If you have the time, I would say give it a go!

[Shanna Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book on the current state of American education and how everyone involved (parents, teachers, and students) can be more aware/proactive in the process. I could probably spend hours picking it all apart and finding other sources that may state things better/reasons to disagree with the points made here. However, overall, it is a good look at where we can return to ideas that deepen students beyond test scores. There are moments where I scratched my head and realized the “why” on some of my own quirks/hang-ups. It is a very good read. I am walking away with ideas to implement in both my parenting and my classroom.

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Far too heavy on the discussion of what is wrong or insufficient with contemporary education in the US. As a parent of elementary school aged children I hoped to find specific recommendations on activities we could do at home or ways to approach our school about implementing changes. I was not able to finish the book, life is too short to finish reading something that falls short of expectations. For a reader interested in the numbers and stats behind America's lagging schools, this might be a decent reference book.

[Emily Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled with the "science" of this book. Edison did not invent electricity and planful is not a word. I felt like the authors were continually trying to justify themselves as scientists. I also have the perspective of both teacher and parent, and I feel that many teachers and schools in the US are doing the things this book recommends but getting very little credit. All the focus was on the places we are failing.

[Lisa Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had read this book before I started teaching (or having children for that matter). A lot of helpful and easy to understand information about children developing the "6Cs" necessary for success -- key skills that help children become thinkers: Collaboration, Communication, Content, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Confidence. Teachers, parents, grandparents, and caregivers will find this book most useful.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book more than I thought, although it was a bit repetitive and was preaching to the choir. I am lucky enough to have my children in a private school that uses the techniques in this book to create well-rounded children versed in collaboration and critical thinking, as opposed to mere content and teaching for the test. It did give me ideas for how to reinforce those notions more at home, and especially how to help my kids build confidence in their skills.

[Allyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a valuable book for educators and parents of all ages to read. The authors not only report the latest research to back up their claims, but they also give accessible tips to implement the concepts. If we want to prepare our children to be competitive in the global environment, we must move away from teaching to the test and rote memorization toward the strategies mentioned in this book.

[G. Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave me a different perspective on the education system not just for children but for adults. It also went in detail with examples of situations with young children and adults in a corporate job. I know have a new lenses regarding education and how to better connect my child with fun learning. Real eye opener. Not just a book about raising kids but insist on how to apply the 6Cs to adults.

[Jaime · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was fine, but it was basically just preaching to the choir!

This quote from the epilogue sums it all up succinctly: "...rethinking how our children learn, appreciating that there is more than content, that the social child is best equipped to be the smart child, that creativity is the currency of our time, and that the best learning occurs when we fail along the way."

[Tung Ta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for raising questions about nurturing a healthy, happy, and confident child. Read this when my daughter was 2 months and suddenly I had an urge to foster an open environment for her to reach her full potential. Bonus: reading the book was a great chance for me to reflect on myself. Whether I'm good enough for the future society.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the 6 domains were helpful, but the title was too misleading. The subtitle seems more on point: this approach is aimed at well rounded success, not brilliance as we generally conceive it. At the same time, the authors do a good job of criticizing the misguided attempts by most parents of trying to make a child brilliant as incomplete and self defeating.

[Yulia Basenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Очередная попытка составить список навыков, которые потребуются нашим детям и которые должны лечь в основу системы их обучения. Понравилось, что была предпринята попытка определить разные степени развития для каждого предложенного навыка. Но иногда кажется, что часть описания - дань полному заполнению ячеек предложенной искусственной модели.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straightforward to read, a little bit repetitive, but that repetition also makes it easy to skip around through the sections. Each section has good examples of tangible actions one can take around children to help guide development.