Why Your Kids Need an Edge

When you and me were in school, we knew that we would be competing with each other once we were ready to get a job. Later on we discovered that we would be competing with anyone in our city for our next job.

Today, the landscape has changed. It’s a global world. And your kids (and mine) are going to compete with the entire world. That’s right, the entire world, and while we’re fighting to bring our minimum wage up to $15, someone, somewhere is willing to work for a fraction of that amount.

Just last week, I needed 1,200 email addresses, names and physical addresses extracted from a specific website and inserted into a Google Sheet using a specific format. I estimated this task to take at least 2 to 3 days of work. I decided to post the task on Fiverr — a website where people can bid work from data entry to graphic design and video editing for $5 increments. Within just a few hours I received more than 30 bids ranging from $15 to $50. I decided to split the work between two individuals. Two days later, my Google Sheet was complete with all the information I needed, formatted and ready for use. I paid a total of $35.

How are our kids going to compete in this new world if we are not preparing them for a fast changing economy? “Be good in school and get a good job” is something of the past. Today, anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can learn what we teach in our schools. Gone are the days when we could teach using a step by step approach. Learning by following pre-defined steps only provides a temporary sense of confidence and kills curiosity. Lately, I see more and more programs designed with “fun and easy lessons”. I strongly believe we are doing a disservice to our kids. Once they land their first job they will realize that real life is not always “fun and easy”.

Instead, we need to teach critical thinking and problem solving, curiosity and discovery. We need to teach failure and confidence. And above all unlock the creativity in each of them. We need to provide them an environment that is conducive of learning, safe to explore, where failure is allowed and success is celebrated. Over the past year, I’ve been spending my time creating this environment. The main goal of the Island of PodPi is provide all these elements while teaching kids the basics of electronics and JavaScript programming using real hands-on projects. Yes, we make learning fun by incorporating comic characters in the curriculum. However, the lessons and the challenges are real.

Our kids need an edge to compete globally. That edge is not learned, it is growing through experiences. Let’s not make lessons that are “fun and easy”. Instead, let’s make lessons that are “fun experiences”. We owe this to them.

Visit PodPi.com and leave your email address. I will send you the first volume of our STEM Adventures.