Wanted: Thinkers for the Information Age

The verdict is in. Not only is the Information Age upon us, it will continue creating change in all aspects of life at an unprecedented pace. While the future may be hard to foresee, parents instinctively know that "the same ol' education" can't prepare their children for life in the challenging times ahead. The skills that will help a child succeed in tomorrow's world are difficult, if not impossible, to develop in the "one-size-fits- all" educational approach of the past. Instead, the best prepared children will have received a "customized education."

GET READY!

Since the moment you first held him, you knew your child was a unique individual. As he grew, that which sets him apart from others only became more apparent. The first step in creating a learning experience that best suits this one-of-a-kind person is to identify his distinctive talents, interests, and intelligence. The next step is to provide the time, attention, and resources necessary to help him utilize his unique gifts to reach his full potential.

This customized approach to education will give rise to a true individual. An individual, able to think for himself, is ready and able to develop the skills necessary for success in the Information Age.

SKILLS FOR SUCCESS

The historic Industrial Revolution created a need for countless factory workers whose valued skills included the ability to perform repetitive tasks, follow directions, and set thinking aside until the workday was over. No longer. In the Information Age, creativity, problem-solving ability, entrepreneurship, and a flair for teamwork garner job offers. To this end, a variety of thinking skills need to be developed and exercised.

Critical Thinking
Never before have households been capable of receiving so much information - at lightning speeds, to boot! Unfortunately, as anyone who has searched for information on a computer knows, not all of it is worth its weight in cyberspace. Therefore, the ability to quickly consider large amounts of information from many sources, and then to discern fact from fiction, is crucial. In "educationese," this is often called critical thinking.

Knowledge Application
It doesn't do much good to merely know that a shovel will move mounds of snow when your car is stuck up to its bumper unless you apply the shovel to the mound of snow. Similarly, a collection of basic information is useless unless a child knows how to apply that knowledge in her thinking and reasoning.

In a book titled, "How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School," editors shared the results of a two-year study conducted by the National Research Council for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement of the U.S. Department of Education. The extensive study revealed that knowledge taught in a single context is less subject to transfer than knowledge acquired through a variety of contexts. In other words, the receipt of information from multiple context presentations increases a child's ability to determine how and when to put knowledge to use.

Autonomy
A clear-cut route to autonomy is built upon responsibility, especially responsibility for one's education. Homeschooling parents know that children in charge of their own education are more inclined to take risks, exhibit creativity, while picking up many practical skills along the education path. Even classroom teachers are beginning to learn the same lesson.

A 1999 Journal of Educational Psychology article featured a study that revealed what those who guide children's education can do to support student autonomy:

• Listen more

• Support the children's intrinsic motivation

• Ask more questions about what the children want to do

• Verbalize fewer directives

A similar Yale University study revealed that, indeed, this approach was more successful than the rote, memory-based approach typically used in schools.

PUTTING IT ALL INTO CONTEXT

Continuing research on the brain and learning shows that the context, or environment, in which critical thinking, knowledge application, and autonomy grow, is just as important as the skills themselves. "Intelligence enhancement involves creating as many neural linkages as possible," explains neurologist Richard Restak in Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain's Potential. "We have to extricate ourselves from the confining and limiting idea that knowledge can be broken down into separate 'disciplines' that bear little relation to one another."

Using "real" resources available in the every day world gives children a much more realistic view of the natural integration of subject matter, and provides the context conducive to growing the thinkers needed in the Information Age. This stands in bold contrast to "traditional" rote learning in which new skills are taught in an isolated and fragmented way that has no relationship to the child's real-world experience base.

LOVING LEARNING

Human nature pulls us toward activities that we enjoy and that we know will enrich our lives in significant ways. Why not build on this natural urge and help your children grow to appreciate and enjoy independent learning throughout life?

As homeschooling parents, we have the POWER to look beyond a "cookie cutter" education for our children. We CAN educate them for success in the world that they will walk in as adults. Our schools are NOT doing this. If our children are encouraged to develop the skills that will be required for personal success, employability, and to be involved global citizens, we will have empowered them to walk in the brave new world of the Information Age.

WHAT'S NEXT NOW?

Since its inception, Homeschool.com has made it a priority to deliver homeschooling parents with information on how they might customize their children's education using resources and services on the cutting edge.

Homeschool.com is proud to announce NewsBank, Inc's "Real-World" Curriculum called "TCR - The Curriculum Resource". TCR's Homeschool Edition is an online curriculum resource designed specifically for homeschooling families.

Throughout the year at Homeschool.com, TCR will provide you with FREE sample activities and information to support you and provide your children with a "Real-World" education.

WHAT ARE INFORMATION AGE LEARNING SKILLS?

(You may want to print this list out for use as a checklist to review your own family's overall learning environment, lessons, units, etc.)

1. Your children must be good readers.

2. Your children must be able to define the information need or problem they are trying to solve.

3. Your children must be able to locate and access information resources they need.

4. Your children must have the ability to organize and analyze the information, which they have researched.

5. Your children must have the ability to evaluate the source of information for relevance, reliability, bias, and the author's purpose.

6. Your children must be able to pull it all together and draw their own conclusions.

7. Your children must be able to apply what they have learned to answer the question or solve the problem.

FREE REAL-WORLD LEARNING ACTIVITY:
Go to http://www.homeschool.com/TCR/
And then click on elementary or secondary sample lessons.

More About TCR's Homeschool Edition

Now available exclusively at Homeschool.com, TCR - The Curriculum Resource, the only online program that helps you raise an individual. Beyond rote memorization, TCR's Real-World Curriculum teaches kids to read, write, and think for themselves.
http://www.homeschool.com/TCR

Trial Offer - One Week Subscription $ 9.95

For over 30 years, TCR's parent company has been a leader in educational technology, helping educators teach reading, writing, research, and critical thinking skills in all subjects. Today, TCR is proud to announce the launch of a special Homeschool Edition of TCR's Real World Curriculum!

• TCR is uniquely suited to help homeschoolers develop Information Age skills by:

• Helping homeschoolers develop critical thinking skills while they are reading and writing in the content areas.

• Connecting Science, Social Studies, Writing, Reading, and more in its integrated curriculum.

• Providing direct access to over 3,000 multiple perspectives and diverse perspectives from all over the world.

• Challenging students to draw their own conclusions.

• Offering multiple forms of online assessments - to check for real understanding (not just memorizing facts).

• Encouraging vocabulary and higher-level comprehension skills.

Online Family Membership includes learning resources (covering elementary through high school level) for the whole family!

• 3 Months: $49.99

• 6 Months: $69.99

• One Year: $99.99

TCR's "Real World" Curriculum
Sign up today for a superior resource for your child's future!
http://www.homeschool.com/TCR/