The Q-Kids - Curiosity...??

By John R. Nocero & Andrea Bordonaro

JRN: Welcome to the return of the Q-Kids, the duo you go to for education, inspiration and connection. I said in a recent linkedin post, that you aren’t going to call this a comeback, because we never left. To me, that’s true. I read a quote on Monday night that inspired me, that said, if you speak from the heart, you cannot go wrong because it is your truth. When we debuted back in July, we talked about that all of us have required training for our jobs. Yet organizations are never always at 100% compliance with training requirements. That’s truth. Aren’t people curious as to why.

Which makes me think about curiosity, one trait that people undervalue or dismiss but one that can unlock transformative growth and change. So I’m curious.

And Andrea, I am curious to your answer. Why are we doing training this way – in a portal, signing off on SOPs, and yet still having audit findings related to training, still pulling incorrect training reports and still not having 100% compliance on the very thing that we say we want but yet when we don’t get it, we say, eh, it’s fine. 85% is good enough. No. It isn’t.

Let’s break it and let’s start digging deep. You teach children. I teach adults. You are great at your job. I told you just the other day and if no one ever has, let me be the first. Consider yourself told. Now. Let’s start here – how do you teach children to absorb the lessons that you need them to learn? Because the next thing I want to figure out is – if it works when they are kids, why do we abandon it when they turn into adults?

?

ALB: Thank you so very much, John, for the heartfelt compliment about my job performance. That means a lot, especially on the eve of the Christmas holiday, when ALL of my patience and understanding is tested with young kids – ha ha. The best way that I try my very best to teach these kids on a daily basis to absorb the lesson that I need them to learn is by first and foremost, finding a creative way to connect it to their real life and relate it to their background, likes, and current interests.

Secondly, but perhaps, most importantly, I need to do my best to keep it fun and engaging in order to hook their attention and maintain it as well. It’s only then that I am able to see that “aha!” light bulb moment of learning go off and THAT is the reason that I do what I do, day in and day out. For instance, we are working on identifying coins and counting small collections of money recently in math.

I related it earlier this week in class to Christmas shopping and how if we don’t have enough money in our pocket, we cannot afford the things that we would like to have or purchase to make those people we love smile during the holidays. They got excited about it and planned out personalized shopping lists with pretend coins. They were given a small amount of money and figured out how much they could purchase from their list and how. It was quite eye opening for them.

Quite a real-life lesson.

I also did this same type of lesson the week of Thanksgiving to grocery shop to prepare a delicious Thanksgiving meal for their family. I had them work cooperatively (such an essential adult, real life skill as well that is often quite a challenge for these post-Covid babes) in small groups to plan what to buy, check costs, and figure out how to afford it with what they “had in their pocket.” The sense of accomplishment that they felt afterward was invaluable – almost like they were really on a true shopping trip! Connecting real life experiences, interests and building on previous knowledge is the key to true absorption of learning new skills and concepts.