Even now, in my 30s, I always enjoy this time of year: back to school time.
I love being part of the Humboldt community because I get to watch students from four different schools grow and learn.
I get to be there for concerts, award ceremonies and class presentations.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to what students can do with eight months of school.
Teachers are amazing. I have said this before, and it deserves repeating.
They have one of the hardest jobs in the world. They have to figure out how to best teach, discipline and encourage children, while balancing all three.
When I have opportunities to watch kids and how they learn, I love to see how teachers engage with their students in new and exciting ways.
I have learned first-hand how learning new skills can transfer into the development of life fundamentals.
And as a big sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters, I have seen the power of positive encouragement and what it can do for kids.
But I have also had my own challenges.
For some reason, even through elementary, high school, and university, problem solving was never my strong suit.
It was not until I learned how to sew that my whole mindset changed and I approached problems and solutions differently.
Taking on a new skill meant I had to be patient with myself, take a deep look at the problems and solutions, and keep on picking at them until I got it right.
The best thing we can do for young people is challenge them, encourage them to try new solutions and not let them quit.
There is research out there that describes how much young people do not know and the skills they do not have, even by the time they have reached college.
Why is that? Do we need to be better at saying to kids: even if you do not like to do things like cooking, chores or basic car repair, these are skills that you need, and you are going to learn them?
Are we teaching kids enough about critical thinking, as well as encouraging them to find different ways to solve problems?
Children are two things: sponges and recording devices.
The sponge takes in everything, from what they see on Netflix to the points of view of their parents, while the recording device repeats it back to anyone who will listen.
One way we can help is to question and challenge our children, so we understand what they are taking in and we can hear what they repeating back.
And we can remember that Google is not the be all end all of their education.
It is very easy to look things up and be told what to think by people who we agree with.
But is it wise to give students the best possible tools, while at the same time showing them how to think critically about what that tool is telling them?
It is too easy to let them run wild in the depths of the internet without actually making them think about what they are seeing.
Ideally, by teaching kids how to think critically as they learn, they will also learn things like compassion, tolerance, patience and common sense.
Good luck to all students as they start another exciting school year, and take this year to learn with enthusiasm.
