Not an Expensive School: Expert Reveals the Secret to Making Children Smart
Not an Expensive School: Expert Reveals the Secret to Making Children Smart
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — These days, not a few parents strive to enrol their children in schools that are known to be expensive and prestigious. The aim is clear: to ensure their child receives the best education so they can grow into an intelligent and successful individual in the future.
However, that view is not entirely correct. To date there is no research or scientific evidence showing a direct link between attending an expensive educational institution and a child’s likelihood of success in adulthood.
A Stanford University expert, Mary C. Murphy, explained that there are other factors that are more decisive in shaping a child’s success. Unfortunately, this important aspect is often overlooked or not given enough attention by parents.
Murphy, who also serves as director and founder of the Summer Institute on Diversity at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, explained that the key to the development of brain and character lies in the ability to adopt a growth mindset.
According to Murphy, children with a growth mindset believe that abilities and intelligence can be developed through learning and experience. With this mindset, children see challenges as opportunities to grow.
Conversely, children with a fixed mindset, the belief that certain talents and intelligence are innate and unchangeable, tend to give up easily and feel powerless when facing difficulties.
Murphy emphasised that consistently encouraging children to apply a growth mindset is among the most effective ways to help them achieve success. Various studies show that this mindset can improve a child’s positive attitude, engagement, and even academic performance.
A similar view is shared by Carol Dweck, a parenting expert and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
‘If parents want to give the best gift to their child, teach them to love challenges, to be curious about mistakes, to enjoy the process of making an effort, and to keep learning,’ Dweck said.