Parenting Archives - Stages Global

The 4 pillars of talent development

Maya Liberman — Sat, 25 Apr 2020 10:36:05 +0000

Throughout human history, we have considered talent a gift – something we blessed and born with. Multi-talented people, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, considered extra lucky – but today we know that luck had nothing (or at least, very little) to do with it.

The Stages Academy program proved that multi-disciplinary talent is something every child can develop, using the right exercises or “games” that work on each, and every one of the 4 pillars of talent development:

Imagination

The first pillar of talent development is imagination – the ability to simulate and form objects, experiences and ideas in the mind with no immediate sensory input. It is actually a re-creation of and memories, combined with imagined changes. Imagination is a fundamental part of the learning process as it helps to implement knowledge and apply it to solve problems. It also integrates with the second pillar of talent development, as I will explain next.

Engineering

Engineering is using scientific principles to design and build structures, machines, and items, so it touches every aspect of our lives. It is about problem-solving, but it also requires the ability to think “outside the box” and visualization techniques – which is where imagination comes into play.

Research

Research is working in a creative and systematic way to increase the stock of knowledge about a topic or an issue, including knowledge of humans as a society and individuals, and applying the new-acquired knowledge in new ways.

The process of research includes 3 steps to increase our understanding of a specific topic:

Collection of data to answer a question relevant to the topic.
Organization and sorting out the collected data.
Analysis of the organized data to establish an answer to the question.

Development

Every progress of creating growth, positive change or adding components can be described as development. The purpose of development is to raise the level and quality of something, in a visible and useful way, while creating the conditions for the continuation of that change.

The Stages Academy talent development program

Our method, based on these 4 pillars of talent development combined with polymath thinking, has proven to help students develop multi-disciplinary talent – which enables them to apply skills and techniques from every field to another.

Want to learn more about The Stages Academy program and develop your child’s multi-disciplinary talent?

Join the online course now.

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What is your role in your child’s journey to becoming an innovator?

Maya Liberman — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 10:59:17 +0000

Technology is developing at a dazzling pace and the job market is changing alongside it, yet the formal education system is barely crawling behind, and the gap is getting bigger every day. With a strong focus on standardized test results and a never-ending pile of homework, there is too much emphasis on getting the right answers and not enough emphasis on asking thoughtful questions and using their creativity. This creates a situation where developing an innovative mind within the limits of the formal education system becomes almost impossible

At this rate, today’s children will graduate into a world that is very different from what they prepared for. The world needs innovators, and our children need to survive the technological transformation of the future, yet every passing day they are being more discouraged from being innovative and taking risks – so how will they become the next Elon Musk or Steve Jobs? How will they survive in a world where innovation is more than “nice to have” – it is a necessity?

Raising the innovators of the future

Parents all over the world have already acknowledged this problem and took their children’s education into their own hands, in order to prepare them for a future where the best way to survive economically is by becoming innovators.

Almost every innovator in history – Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, even Leonardo De Vinci – had parents, or some sort of parental figure, who encouraged them to think differently, nurtured their creativity and logic skills, and invested time in developing their talents.

As parents of future innovators, we have to take responsibility now for our children’s education and skill-building, to help them focus and accelerate their progress. In order to raise a generation of innovators, we need to evolve into a new kind of parents – the kind of parents who realize their kids’ potential and actually do something about it, not waiting for the school system to improve (by then, it would be too late).

Read here about the skills your child needs to acquire in order to develop an innovator’s mind

The post What is your role in your child’s journey to becoming an innovator? appeared first on Stages Global.

Sim-plify: prepare your child for the real world with simulation games

Maya Liberman — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 11:12:29 +0000

Children learn best when they are playing, and role-playing as someone older, such as a parent, a teacher, or other adult characters helps them to make sense of the world. Simulations provide a playing field to deal with new situations, practice different outcomes, and learn new skills in a safe environment. While some simulation games can teach your child different skills, from managing a budget to flying an aircraft, almost all of them enable your child to practice decision making, strategic and tactical thinking – while having epic amounts of fun!

There are many different simulation games out there, so there really is something for everyone and everything: There are hospital simulators, flight simulators, army simulators such as Call of Duty, city-building simulators (our favorite is SimCity) that teach management and economics, and, of course, life simulators – featuring The Sims as the best franchise in that category. The current version of the game, The Sims 4, also imitates emotions and uses them to affect the whole gameplay experience.

Let’s take a deeper look into The Sims 4 and what, with the right guidance, it can teach your child (and you, too) about the real world:

Household management – your child will explore the abilities and understand the responsibilities of a parent, as they can play different family members simultaneously. They can also develop a sense of responsibility by taking care of their virtual children and pets.

Budget management – your child will have to send their Sims to work and learn how to make a budget in order to pay for their current expenses and save for big purchases – such as a family vacation.

Time management – the Sims, just like us, are mortal. They grow older, they have only 7 days a week and only 24 hours per day – and how they spend that time is up to your child (who also takes into consideration their Sims needs, aspirations, personality, and other factors).

Build relationships – the Sims are social creatures with very straightforward interactions. Your child can easily understand the emotionally-exaggerated reactions they get from other Sims and act accordingly to get their Sims relationships to where they want it to go.

Develop a career – your child will get their Sims promoted and earn more Simoleons as they fulfill their goals and make challenging decisions in their career.

Dealing with different emotions and life situations – every event in the Sims life triggers their emotions in some way, so during the game, they will have different moods that affect their behavior, what they can or can’t do, their reactions, etc. The way your child will work around those moods and emotions in order to accomplish their Sims goals will also teach them a lot about how to handle real-life emotional experiences and how to treat others with empathy and compassion.
Business management – with some expansion packs, your child will also be able to build and manage a business from scratch – including managing virtual employees, inventory, and customer service.

Turn a simulation game into a personal development tool for your child in 4 steps

Step 1: Learn

Learn the game by playing it yourself, explore the different aspects of it, and figure out what your child can learn out of it about the real world (and also make sure it is suitable for their age).

Step 2: Play

Have a gaming session with your child – introduce them to the game, let them play, and explain/demonstrate as needed, make analogies from the real world to help them understand the game.

Step 3: Connect

Talk about the game in your free time and help your child to make connections between the game and situations in the real world.

Step 4: Share

Your child can now continue playing every day as much as they want, with you or on their own (if the game is extremely fun they will want to play for hours – but 60 minutes a day is definitely enough). Talk to them after each gaming session and ask what they learned from the game about the real world – you can even make it a regular conversation topic during family dinners and let all family members share this experience.

Check out The Sims 4 here.

The post Sim-plify: prepare your child for the real world with simulation games appeared first on Stages Global.