Tag Archives: Teaching values to children

Some Children are Self Smart

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book. Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthor.com)

Train up a child…

Some Children are Self Smart

         “Still water runs deep” is an expression that is often used to describe a child who may be quiet and perhaps shy and doesn’t mind being alone.  This may very well be the child who has a dominant intrapersonal intelligence.

         Seven intelligences have been defined.  People are born with dominance in three or four of these intelligences.  The intelligences are known as verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, bodily/kinesthetic, spatial, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.  Other names for these intelligences are word smart, numbers smart, body smart, picture smart, music smart, people smart, and self smart.

         Intrapersonal or self-smart is the capacity to understand oneself. This person can understand his/her own personal thoughts and feelings and use that knowledge to plan and direct his/her life.  Intrapersonal intelligence involves not only an appreciation of self, but also of the human condition and is evident in psychologists, spiritual leaders, and philosophers.

         The children who possess this intelligence to a strong degree may be thought of as “loners”. They don’t seem to mind being alone for extended periods of time. Sometimes parents worry unduly about these children for fear they may become anti-social when they are simply thinking about life and its meaning. They are usually in tune with their inner feelings, values, beliefs, and thinking processes.  These children may be “wise beyond their years”, can usually motivate themselves, and have intuition.  Since they spend much time in simply thinking, they may have well thought-out opinions on many issues.  Others often go to them for advice.  However, some may think of them as distant resulting in a small number of friends.

         Teachers would do well to give children who have this intelligence opportunities to describe their feelings or the feelings of others when essays are assigned. Any essay topic that asks for an opinion is a subject to be enjoyed by these children.  There will be an interest in the personalities of great mathematicians when studying math.  A parent or teacher might ask for a description of the feelings of others as history is studied because they like to imagine how people felt in various circumstances. 

         Job skills the intrapersonal person is likely to possess include working alone, setting goals and obtaining objectives, appraising, planning, initiating, and organizing.  This person is likely to be a self-motivator.  Jobs that these individuals seem to fit are clergyman or religious worker, psychologist, therapist, counselor, or entrepreneur.  At some point in time, they may want to write an autobiography.  They may not always be good in jobs where quick action is required because they like time to reflect and think before making a decision.  

         I am amazed when I think about the varying personalities that God created.  He knew what would be needed to sustain a society and he gave each of us unique ways of thinking and acting to meet those needs.  It would be so nice if each of us learned to appreciate the differences in people rather than expecting everyone else to think and feel as we do.  Ideally, we would all work together and compliment the skills and abilities of one another.    

Where’s the Learning Value?

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by Pat Lamb (www.patlambchristianwriter.com) Author of Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book

Train up a child…

Where’s the Learning Value?

         When I view some of the children’s programs and books that are available now,  I keep wondering, “Where’s the learning value?”  It seems that much of what is being done with children now tends to be more entertaining than containing real value for children.  That is not to say that children should not be entertained and have fun while learning.  Of course, most children like fun, but the real objective should be the teaching of values and information with the fun part as a by-product or side issue. There are times in life when we have to do things that are not fun and children need to learn that principle.

         Our present-day society provides so much entertainment for children that often we feel that we must compete in order to keep the attention of a child. This leads to shallowness when dealing with serious topics. It is difficult to hold attention of children very long, so we find ourselves dancing, shouting, or doing whatever it takes to keep their attention.  Some of this is fine, but there are times when a child needs to simply learn to sit still and listen.  We sometimes tend to glide over some things simply to get through the lesson.  

When I taught kindergarten, often parents brought children to me and said, “You have my permission to spank him!”  Can you see that happening now?  Teachers walk a thin line trying to get children to learn without upsetting them.  Children are aware of the fact that teachers are not allowed to spank and many take advantage of this fact.  In many cases, if students thought they could be spanked, the spanking would not be necessary.  As teachers walk this thin line, they know they cannot demand children perform past a certain point or the child and the parents will get upset.  This forces the teacher to let the child get by with things that prevent the depth of learning they need.  

         In church situations, teachers and leaders have to deal with the fact that a child may not return to church if made to behave appropriately.  Many parents do not require their children to attend church and leave it up to the child to decide.  This fact forces church workers to have to be very careful not to upset a child in providing discipline for proper behavior. At the same time, we have to remember that the whole purpose of getting a child to church is to teach that child ways of behavior pleasing to Jesus. When we fail to do that, we are actually teaching a child by default that it is alright to misbehave.

         There are many good (and bad) computer activities for children.  Parents need to be aware of what the children are doing with their devices. 

Children now have colorful books that talk or even smell when you scratch them.  Some books have fold-outs with hidden things beneath.  Much of this is great.  It would be even better if values for living were incorporated in the text, but often they are flat when it comes to a story plot. Since teachers and leaders of children are so restricted, we really need to choose the materials carefully that contain real value for children. Those working with children need to choose movies, games, and activities that do not only fill up time, but actually teach what children need to know. They also need to require behavior acceptable to Christ, but it must be required in a loving way.

Let’s remember that children have real problems and they need real solutions to those problems. They will be grown and gone soon. We have such a short time to prepare them for their future.