Think Like a Child. Teach Your Children Well.

When adults face a problem, they tend to rely on the line of reasoning that helped them solve similar problems successfully in the past. This is good because by the time we become adults, most of the problems we solve everyday are of similar nature. Our every day problems don't rapidly change. Thus, too much thinking isn't required.
Economists since Adam Smith would be happy to tell you: the more and more we solve the same/similar set of problems, the more we become masters in it through specialisation. They'll also tell you specialisation increases efficiency. Although this line of thought is very appealing, it can be boring and dangerous. To see how, let's go back a few years or a decade and more. Let's become children once again: a clean slate.
When we're curious, we tend to be more creative. We tend to ask questions that aren't asked within our normal way of thinking. When we're curious, we also tend to be unbiased. When we're curious and unbiased, we tend to think 'out of the box'. Curiosity and not being biased are crucial elements needed to confront a new problem. An 8/9 year old is gifted with these two qualities. To think like a child is to think small like a child and not big like an adult.
Every big problem you can think of has probably already been analysed by almost every specialist. They remain problems because they're too difficult to be solved in full. By the time we become adults on our 21st birthday, our ability to think small gradually vanishes. Our surroundings shape the way we become comfortable in thinking and solving problems. Once we're in that comfort zone, we tend to remain there. We lose the sense of awe from curiosity and the innocence of not being biased. Let's now think like a child on one problem. Let's see if we can do better than the adults.
Education reforms are a challenge for any country– rich or poor. Smaller classrooms, state of the art technology, better teachers, more tests, etc are the usual inputs through which societies shape their education policies. The 'specialist' thinks in the 'full'. Increase expenditure on the above heads. Give some time. The general level of education shall improve. It does improve. What the 'specialist' normally doesn't ask, could the improvement have been better? Are there any gaps? If there are, as adults can we admit there were gaps in our thinking to start with?
It's easy for parents and authorities to blame teachers when children don't perform well at school. Did you ever think that children spend most of their waking hours, not at school, but outside, mostly at home? For the remaining time outside school, the ball is in the parents' court. Education policies seldom consider parents and parenting. Parents can't be totally blamed either. By and large, we're not educated to look at spending quality time with children as an investment.
Changing the mindset of specialists is tough. By the time we become adults, we become afraid to tell others our way of thinking may be outdated, not correct or has gaps. Children have no fear of losing their face. It's this trait that needs to be nurtured all our lives. It takes two to do the tango. Schools and education policies alone can't enhance creativity in children. The other side of the coin is with the parents. Parents too need to 'teach their children well'.

Source: Think Like A Freak. By Steven Levitt and Stephen J Dubner. May 2014.

Asrar Chowdhury teaches economic theory and game theory in the classroom. Outside he listens to music and BBC Radio; follows Test Cricket; and plays the flute. He can be reached at: asrar.chowdhury@facebook.com