

Ask HN: What skills should we teach our kids to prepare them for the future? - hoppster

I mean, specifically, what useful skills should our kids acquire that are above and beyond what they're likely to be taught in public school (before college). I don't want to hear about teaching them values, character traits, or philosophies. I am really just interested in hearing your suggestions for hard, tangible skills that will give kids a better opportunity to succeed. I'll start with a few...<p>- fundamentals of programming
- understanding/calculating risk
- important words to understand
- media literacy
- budgeting
- investing
- business start-up 
- small business economics
- real-estate economics
- fundamental of robotics
- creative/lateral thinking
- critical/rational thinking
- system thinking
- study hacks
- memory hacks
- and...
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Yen
IMO, a lot of what is important are the little nuggets of truth that straddle
the line between values/philosophies and hard skills.

In response to your list:

\+ numerical literacy - risk, budgeting, and investment all stem from this.
The value of approaching a problem numerically (as a ballpark estimate or
exact answer), and general guidelines for doing so.

\+ Negotiation, and corresponding traits of empathy. Even if you don't agree
or sympathize with another person's view, being able to navigate an agreement
is hugely important, and , I believe, largely lacking in today's society.

\+ The value of lawyers, contracts, and "getting it in writing".

\+ The value of lawyers, and not talking to the police without one. (this
particularly applies to U.S.)

\+ Common scams to avoid. In the same vein, how to recognize and avoid medical
quackery and bad investment advice (or scams). Some would lump this under
'critical/rational' thinking. Arguably, it's a subset of that, but the
differences are having a specific framework, awareness of the problem, and the
intention to actually _apply_ the critical thought.

one quibble:

\- fundamentals of robotics. I'm a big fan of robotics, and I agree that
fundamentals of programming is an important concept. (specifically, I'd say
'procedural literacy', the understanding of a process or computation, critique
it, and create processes in code)

That said, while robotics does have huge potential in industry and everyday
life, I don't think it's so fundamental that everyone has to be familiar with
the fundamentals. It could be argued, in the U.S., that everyone should be
capable of driving a manual transmission automobile or riding a bike, but I
wouldn't expect the average person to know how to _build_ a car. (car repair
is a middle area, arguably a good life skill to have, even if not a
fundamental)

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cwhittle
self-determination (maybe this falls under your excluded values, character
traits, or philosophies), but its a rather important skill in my opinion.

a second language - doesn't matter which one really, but it has clear
cognitive and practical benefits. Bonus points for spending time in another
culture for a different perspective.

edited to add: Really many of these skills can be learned as needed, but the
desire and skills to learn new things are an important skill to have. If
you're successful in teaching them the fundamental ones, like critical
thinking, then they have the tools to learn what's needed.

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jf271
I the US I can think of two.

Number one: you are in charge of you life and education. Don't depend on
teachers to teach you everything or the government to guarantee your
happiness.

Number two: learn to accept criticism and act on it. You won't get much of it
during your years in school but you will get it eventually. It isn't the worst
thing in the world and you might benefit from it if you don't just react
against it.

