Some people say that the diploma a child will earn in the future is at least a capital that will allow them to establish themselves in society, ensuring they do not face the increasingly competitive life ahead with empty hands. Some say that a child’s good manners and graceful behavior serve as the family’s advertisement, even if they don’t possess extraordinary abilities, at least it guarantees that they won’t go astray. There are also those who say that they have too many regrets in their own lives, that their dreams have always been washed away by the harsh realities, and with better living conditions now, they will never let tragedy repeat itself in their children, wanting to mold them into the image they desire.
However, when young people carried their university diplomas and stumbled on the path of job-seeking, when the media occasionally reported on the distortion of human nature due to trivial reasons, when children could not become the ideal image in the eyes of their parents, and the parents were frustrated by their inadequacies… Is education merely about achieving superior living conditions?
How to nurture a child’s talent lies in paying attention to the small details of everyday life.
The aspiration for one’s child to succeed is a common goal for every parent, but how to cultivate a child’s talent has become a headache for parents. In this age of technological advancement, education has become increasingly complex. Parents often find themselves at a loss due to their children’s series of “unthinkable” actions, feeling anxious in a cycle where intervening is wrong, and not intervening is also wrong.
In fact, only by walking one’s own path can one find the goals they’ve set for themselves. Education can be achieved in some “small gestures” in everyday life, and qualities can be cultivated in the details.
Sometimes, the key to success or failure is not in the environment but in the details of the process. Some “small gestures” in education, such as eye contact, actions, and attitudes, these often overlooked details by parents, are the most exquisite tools for shaping a child’s talent. Through careful refinement in various aspects like intelligence, financial literacy, resilience, emotional intelligence, moral values, and aesthetics, give your children wings so they can soar in the ideal sky!
There are no rigid theoretical knowledge or lengthy sermons, only subtle processes of imparting. Giving someone a fish can only satisfy their hunger for a moment but teaching them how to fish can sustain them for a lifetime. Quality education provides children with the means to fish, rather than just providing them with the food to survive. These methods to address fundamental issues are hidden in the everyday words and actions of parents, which had often gone unnoticed until now.
The development of character is a gradual and sequential process; it cannot be rushed or achieved in a single step. The process of building good character is essentially a series of frames fixed in a child’s memory, one after another. When a child is about to host a birthday party, they may suddenly recall an image of their mother saving coins, prompting them to consciously withdraw their bank card from the ATM. On the contrary, if a vivid image of their father gambling recklessly during a mahjong game takes precedence, any well-intentioned lectures will become feeble and ineffective.
The key is how to imprint the details of character in a child’s mind and then influence their behavior when they need guidance. It’s this internal, automatic awareness that comes from the child’s heart, which is the essence of education.
Written by: Johnny Kwan, Curriculum Director of the International Gifted and Talented Development Education Institute