A Great Opportunity to Foster Critical Thinking and Open Hearts
"I know already! You don't have to tell me a million times!"
Previously, we talked about how to avoid a "𝗜 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄" culture, but what about the opposite? How do we guide Children / Colleagues who are annoyed and have shut themselves off from further learning?
Ah, this is a great opportunity to foster CRITICAL THINKING. Here's how we can respond:
𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 / 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲
"Can you help me by showing me the evidence/proof? Which paragraph tells us that Madagascar is in East Africa?"
"Let's see if you can take it to the next level! What's the capital of Madagascar?"
𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 / 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀
"Alright, quickly finish up your task, we have to respect the timetable. What are the next steps after this task?"
** Note that in each of the scenarios above, I have refrained from using my usual "Well done" and "Thank you". This is because I do not want to reinforce the "I Know Already" behavior.
When the time is right, we also have to address the unhelpful behavior. We can do this by saying,
"It's important to keep an open mind and an open heart. Good things flow effortlessly into our lives 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗱 to new knowledge and wisdom."
A bit of Socratic Questioning goes a long way into developing rational and curious Children. When executed properly, it does wonders in the workplace as well!
