Why kids ought to be taught about inventions
Most adults feel that a mere school student need not know how steam power, electric bulb or even the USB was discovered. The hands-on part of invention is probably too complex for them to grasp. This mindset is faulty. All inventors started their journey as curious kids. When invention becomes part of school education, students start identifying and creating new possibilities for themselves and their world.
How can invention be integrated in school education?
Educators in many school workshops and online courses are integrating the process of invention into their current approaches and curriculum. This is being used in STEM, computer science, entrepreneurship, programming languages, and even personality development courses. Here are a few steps you can take as parent to make inventions a part of your child’s school education.
- Ask your kid to identify what they feel is a problem. It could be something simple. Perhaps the school bus is going on a longer route and delaying kids, or the refrigerator is not cooling food properly
- Drawing on their existing knowledge base, the kids would now try to solve or suggest a solution to the problem
- They will work towards the solution, documenting their progress
This little experiment will start kids on a journey of discovery.
What are the benefits of learning about inventions?
When kids learn how inventions happen, they also pick up a lot of other information and skills.
Trouble-shooting and innovative thinking-
Cracking a problem requires thinking out of the box, and every inventor is proof of that. Faced with real world challenges, students go deeper than book learning to put theory to practice
Confidence and leadership skills-
When a 10-year-old changes a bulb for the first time, he or she discovers a whole new facet of being self-reliant. A teen leading a successful group project for tracking habits of migratory birds realises what leadership may mean. Knowledge is a source of confidence.
Practical application of theory-
Students will realise how STEM theory can actually be applied in the real world. It will link stories of inventions, classroom teaching and actual living experiences together.