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How to prepareyour child for highschool, college, and the real world
ahead
VVM Parent Empowerment Series
Sunday, April 6th2014
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My background
Graduated from Fort BendISD
Graduated from UT Austinwith BS in Biology
Joined Teach For America,became Houston ISDmiddle school scienceteacher
Currently work at Safal
Partners, K-12 educationreform consulting firm
Disclaimer: Strictly my opinions, collected from my experience growing up here in US, my two
years of teaching experience in a public school, education consulting experience, and my
personal philosophy on education/career.
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Parent queriesES: What kinds of classes,
extracurricular things should I
get my chidren in to at this age?
MS: How should I prepare my
children for high school? What
types of tutoring, opportunities
should I expose him/her to?
HS: How do I make sure my
child gets in to a good
college?
Pre-College: What are
things we should consider
when choosing colleges,
picking majors, etc.? How
do I ensure my kid gets in
to medical school?
Truthfully, there are no ideal answers to the questions
asked above.
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21stcentury workforce
World economy doesn't pay you for your knowledge (since you can Google just
about anything), it's about what you do with what you know." - Andreas, PISA guy
- Forbes Magazine, Article on Leadership
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/10/11/the-10-skills-employers-most-want-in-20-something-employees/
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21stcentury workforce
Confidence
Adaptable
Perseverance
Tact
Meticulousness
Humble
Ambition
Relentless workethic
Thirst for knowledge;
curiosity
Passion
Grit
Ability to overcome
adversity
Innovative
Malleability
Use initiative
Courageous/Risk-taker
Flexible
Willingness to
receive and grow
from feedback
(reflectivity)
Strong verbal
and written
communication
Ability to
problem solve
Ability to assess newinfo and critically
think about it to
form own opinions
and assertions
Determination
Interpersonal
awareness
Cognitive ability
Teamwork
Organizational
skills: managing
and prioritizing
*Survey results collected from individuals currently engaged in professional careers: teaching, consulting, business, medicine, law, engineering and graduate school: medical school, law school, etc.
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Top traits and skills
Relentless workethic
Thirst forknowledge andwillingness totake risks
Adaptability
TraitsStrong verbaland writtencommunication
Organizationalskills: managingand prioritizing
Ability to assessnew information,critically thinkabout it, and formown opinions andassertions
Skills
Define: underlyingpersonality, values,
beliefs
Define: things you candevelop through practice
and refine
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How do we cultivate traitsand skills?
TRAIT: Relentless work ethic
Im not afraid to die on a
treadmill. I will not be
outworked. You may be
more talented than me. You
might be smarter than me.
And you may be better
looking than me. But if we
get on a treadmill together,
you are going to get off first
or Im going to die. Its really
that simple. Im not going to
be outworked. Will Smith
Source: http://www.thirdminds.com/will-smiths-formula-for-success-in-just-10-minutes/
Create challenging environment for your child and if
need be, allow them to fail
Ex. Encourage a shy child to try out for a play or join
debate class
Make them work hard not just for grades, but for
everything
Ex. Becoming best basketball player on team through
practice, summer employment
Hold high expectations for themselves and make them
accountable for their actions
Ex. Allow them to make their own goals and hold
themselves accountablePracticing tabla for 45
minutes/day for six weeks prior to performance
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TRAIT: Thirst for knowledge, take risks
How do we cultivate traitsand skills?
The important thing is notto stop questioning Never
lose a holy curiosity.
Albert Einstein
Curiosityin children, is but
an appetite for knowledge.
The great reason whychildren abandon themselves
wholly to silly pursuits and
trifle away their time
insipidly is, because they find
their curiosity balked, and
their inquiries neglected.
-- John Locke
Exposure to new and different things
Ex. Museums, newspaper, various types of literature, new
cities/countries, cultures, religions, opinions, current
events and news, PBS World Report, CNN
Encourage curiosity at all times
Ex. Allow them to ask lots of questions; What, why, how,
where, when?; daily dinner time ideal
Ask them questions about their thoughts, perceptions,
and feelings and encourage them to view ideas from
different lenses
Ex. How do you feel about the Malaysian Airlines plane
going missing? What do you think happened? How do
you think their families feel?
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TRAIT: Adaptability
How do we cultivate traitsand skills?
It is not the strongest of
the species that survives,
nor the most intelligent
that survives. It is the one
that is the most
adaptable to change.
- Charles Darwin
Place your child in a foreign environment
Ex. Enroll them in a summer debate/band/Hindu VHP
camp; summer trips; foreign study abroad
Allow children to continue to meaningfully exploretechnology and new developments
Ex. To survive in this day and age, this generation will
need to continuously learn new things and adapt; iPad
and iPhone interaction, building own Apps (using
GoogleApps builder); create own website (Wix.com)
Find opportunities for your children to meet and engage
with new people
Ex. Develop inter- and intrapersonal skills; different
playgroups, groups of friends
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SKILL: Strong communication,
verbal and written
How do we cultivate traits and skills?
Public speaking: helps develop confidence and self-esteem
Develop at home Allow them to voice their opinions fromearly age, ask them probing questions
Develop at school/outside Debate and public speaking
course, leadership opportunities, Toastmasters
Writing skills: reflection of intelligence and cognitive
aptitude
Develop at home creative writing prompts, group
blogging/journaling
Reading Comprehension skills: important for high school
and college
Develop at home reading all sorts of things, a lot!; group
reading time and discussion; reading on Kindle
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SKILL: Organizational skills: managing and
prioritizing tasks
How do we cultivate traits and skills?
General organizational skills
Develop at home: upkeep of notes in binders/folders foreach class, daily check-ins; keeping and maintaining agenda
Making action plans and timelines
Develop at home: starting at MS, courses and electives
student will take to reach certain goal; meet with counselor
Managing and prioritizing tasks
MS, HS, college lots of activities, tasks
Develop at home: allow to practice this skill in safe
environment, develop into habit
Pre-AlgebraAlgebraGeometryAlgebra IIPre-CalculusCalculusStatistics, Calculus II
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SKILL: Ability to assess new information,
critically think about it, and form own
opinions and assertions
How do we cultivate traits and skills?
Assess new informationDevelop at home: read newthings together, ask questions,
watch videos
Critically think about it
Develop at home: Ask questions that will make child think
outside of the box (lot more how and why?, explainingprocess, rationale); utilize online resource programs,
KhanAcademy.org
Form own opinions and assertions
Develop at home: talk about it, write about it in a fun way;
home debates
Resources:KhanAcademy
Readworks
DiscoveryLearning
CNNKids
BrainPop
MOOCs
TedTalks
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My general suggestionsElementary
School
Middle
School High School College
Exploration of
everything
Develop good
habits:organization,
asking good
questions, ability
to communicate
and adapt to new
environments,
asking for help
when need it,
sense ofresponsibility and
accountability
Identify generally
what kids interests
are
Continue to cultivateand refine time
management,
organization,
prioritization skills
Spend summers
building skill and
knowledge (debate,
summer internships,
VHP cultural and
religious awareness)
Focus in on 2-3
things, get really
good at them
Start developingresume for college:
do internships to
explore career
options
Spend summers
doing career
oriented internships
or taking
courses/going tocamp to develop
skill/knowledge
Design a plan for
four years
Explore: study
abroad, internshipsin new cities
Study what you like
and excel at it
Spend summers
doing career
oriented internships
Build resume, learn
interview skills
Learn how to
network, give a pitch
on oneself
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NupurstimelineElementary
School
Middle
School High School College
Extracurricular
Ice skating,
soccer, art
class,
keyboarding
class, VPSS
Sunday class
Academic:
Debate, all Pre-
AP classes,
Algebra in 8thgrade
Extracurricular:
Art class, VPSS
Sunday class,
violin class,
volunteer at
Pratham
office/CPAs office
to develop skills
Academic: Medical
Science Academy, all
Honors/AP classes
Leadership: HOSA
Regional Secretary,Texas Childrens
Hospital Jr. Council
President, American
Red Cross Youth
Executive Board
Extracurricular:
volunteering at TCH,
Pratham
Internships:
Shadowing, Research
NYU & UT Austin
interested in
economics andbiology
Leadership: Forty
Acres Festival,
Senate of College
Councils
Extracurricular:
Played Shanti in
drama, volunteering,
flag football Internships:
Shadowing, Research
Post-College
Joined Teach ForAmerica, Safal
Started non-profit
organization, DC
Scholars 2013
Mandir volunteer
Backpacking across
South East Asia to
explore the world
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Final remarks
1. Help your child find what theyare interested in by exposing themto everything
2. In the process, help cultivateessential traits and skills that areimportant for the 21stcenturyworkforce and allow them to take
ownership of key decisions3. The childs passion and interestwill drive them towards success
6 skills and traits
Relentless work
ethic
Thirst for
knowledge andwillingness to
take risks
Adaptability
Communication
skills Organization
skills
Critical thinking
skills
Specific questions?: Nupur Shah, [email protected]