Mixed Signals: World we want
No. 33 – 30th of April, 2023
“It won't be like that in the real world!”
That's a response I hear often, when I do my best to advocate for better support for children in schools.
I talk about reasonable adjustments, and support through a therapeutic lens. And I'm told “Why bother? That won't prepare them for the world beyond school.”
Here's the thing... maybe we shouldn't just prepare kids for the world that exists, but also for the world we want to exist. If we teach a better way, our kids live a better way. Young people are the ideal place to start because they offer a long-term return on investment.
Oh, and it's the right thing to do.
Enjoy! ~ GKT
Above-average
Take a group of 100 people. Ask them to rate their driving ability between 1 and 10. The average response should be 5. It will actually be much higher.
That's partly due to what's known as the above-average effect, discussed in a great episode from the Nudge podcast. Another factor discussed is confirmation bias, and there's two great videos that demonstrate how this will work for you, depending on your beliefs about capitalism.
+ Nudge podcast: Why stupid people think they’re smart
+ Capitalism is Exploitation & Capitalism is Liberation
Deep dive
I'm currently listening to a wide-ranging podcast with Derek Sivers. In the opening minutes he shares a story from when he was learning to dive. He starts to panic in the water, becoming dysregulated and entering a threat response.
The instructor does a wonderful job of helping him calm, by grounding him with his surroundings, and reminding him he's not in any danger.
Derek then repeats what he's learned shortly after. Which got me thinking about how we help children regulate... we're not just helping them, but also teaching them the skills to go out into the world and help others.
He also does a deep dive on breaking away from our reliance on big tech companies, in particular with cloud services from Google, Apple, etc. Something I'm keen to explore further.
+ Derek Sivers on The Tim Ferriss Show
Quick links...
+ CANAL+ Crafts Innovative and Unique ‘Dystitles’ to Support Dyslexic People