“Smart Children” What is the characteristic common to?

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What are the characteristics of a so-called “smart child”? If you are raising a child, you probably want your child to be “smart” rather than “not smart.”

But “smart” is an ambiguous word. What does “wisdom” mean? Are you good at studying or have so-called “academic ability”? Or is it the goodness of “Zito”? Or is it the same as IQ?

This time, we will focus on “intellectual curiosity” and examine the characteristics of “smart children.” If you value pursuing your interests, you may be able to pave the way for your child to become a “smart child.”

What is Wisdom

Before we talk about the characteristics of a “smart child,” let’s first confirm the meaning of “smartness.” “Smart” refers to being “able to study” and “able to do things well.” It can also be translated as “smart.”

As mentioned above, it is ambiguous what kind of ability “smartness” specifically means . Therefore, the interpretation of “wisdom” changes depending on the era and individual.

As you know, with the spread of AI, there is a lot of talk about “jobs being taken away by AI” and “how to acquire the skills needed in an AI society.” Edward Hess, a business professor at the University of Virginia in the US, believes that in a society where AI competes, “we need to further improve our cognitive and emotional skills.” And this “upgrade” starts with changing the definition of “to be smart.”

In the past, “smartness” was about minimizing mistakes and getting good grades. However, in terms of “smartness” in the sense of not making mistakes, humans cannot beat AI.

Professor Hess describes the new era of “smartness” as follows:

The new smart will be determined not by what or how you know but by the quality of your thinking, listening, relating, collaborating, and learning. Quantity is replaced by quality. And that shift will enable us to focus on the hard work of taking
Our cognitive and emotional skills to a much higher level . Quantity will be replaced by quality, and this shift will allow us to focus on the challenge of increasing the level of cognitive and emotional skills.

(Source: Harvard Business Review|
In the AI ​​Age, “Being Smart” Will Mean Something Completely Different Emphasis in bold is provided by the editorial department)

The keyword is “quality over quantity”. How many calculation problems can you complete in a certain amount of time. It seems impossible to measure modern “smartness” from the perspective of “quantity” like this. “Quality” — in other words, ” how deeply you can think ” can be said to be the measure of “wisdom.”

So, what are the characteristics of the “smart children” of the new era?

Characteristics of a “Smart Child”

The characteristic of a “smart child” seems to be that they are “ strongly curious .” 

It is said that children who are motivated by their curiosity and work hard at what they love will study independently when the need arises to satisfy their curiosity. Therefore, even if parents do not force them to “study”, they can ” develop their abilities”.

If something genuinely interests you, you will try to find out for yourself. As a result, you may have experienced that it improved your knowledge and skills.

  • I became a big fan of foreign actors! →I want to read that person’s SNS and blog →I want to study a foreign language
  • I fell in love with trains! → I want to go to various stations → Learn how to read place names and train lines
  • Games are so fun! → I want to make it myself → I will try to write the source code by following what I see.

On the other hand, what if your parents tell you, “Don’t read books that aren’t related to your studies,” or “Don’t act like a child forever,” and you‘re deprived of the opportunity to nurture your curiosity? Without knowing the joy of pursuing one’s interest, one cannot continue to enjoy studying with only a sense of duty, “I’ll do it because I was told to do it” or “I’ll do it because I have to.” You will hate studying, and as a result, your grades will not improve.

In the process of pursuing curiosity, you will acquire the ability to think from multiple perspectives, and you will be able to enjoy a sense of accomplishment. As a result, we acquire “smartness”. In other words, it can be said that one of the characteristics of a “smart child” today is curiosity.

How to make a “smart child”

What can we do to foster curiosity, a characteristic of “smart children”?

Psychologist Hiroaki Enomoto believes that parents’ intellectual curiosity influences their children. According to the National Institute for Educational Policy Research’s National Academic Achievement and Learning Situation Survey (2017), families whose children achieve high academic ability despite being economically disadvantaged have the following tendencies: Because I found out.

  • Encourage your child to read books and newspapers.
  • I talk with my children about their impressions of the books they read.
  • Read books (excluding comics and magazines).
  • Read newspaper articles on political economy and social issues.
  • Interested in problems, issues, and events in the community and society.

The behavior of parents with strong intellectual curiosity and the home environment created by parents nurture children’s intellectual curiosity. Therefore, Mr. Enomoto concludes, “First of all, it is important for parents to have intellectual curiosity and to seek intellectual stimulation .”

If you want to nurture the curiosity characteristic of a “smart child,” parents need to turn their attention to their intellectual curiosity. Consider adopting the following habits.

  • Read a book,
  • read the newspaper
  • go to art galleries and museums

I delved into the curiosity characteristic of a “smart child”. By cherishing the feeling of “interesting!” It is necessary to push forward with “what I have to do”, but please also cherish the pure curiosity of “it looks interesting!” or “I want to try it!”.

Parents and caregivers must support their child’s strengths and interests, foster a love for learning, and provide a nurturing environment that encourages growth and development, regardless of their specific intelligence level or abilities. Every child has unique talents and abilities that should be recognized and nurtured.

Also Read: Being a Data Scientist