When we think about holistic education for our children, we are mostly unsure of what it means. For a fact, the perception of holistic education varies in different places and with different cultures.
For example, if you take the case of China, their education system is far too different from that of western countries. In China, over a third of the curriculum in a junior secondary school is devoted to Chinese and mathematics, whilst at senior secondary level over half of the teaching concerns science and mathematics.
If you take the case of UK, all students in secondary level study English, Maths, Sciences, a Humanity and a Modern Language. Besides these subjects, each school has a list with optional subjects (Art, Music, Drama, Latin, Sport Science, Design Technology, Computer Science), and students may choose a few subjects that interest them.
The difference in both these countries is the way they have designed their education system. While China forces selected subjects too hard on students, UK gives a lot of freedom for students to choose from a well-thought-out menu.
The good news is that many other countries are adapting to western education models — and this is good for our children. Holistic development is important in early years of child development. It allows children to develop solid internal values and self-confidence because their whole being is considered throughout the learning process.
What is Holistic Learning?
Holistic learning takes learners beyond core academics and helps them get exposed to the world around them. Not just that, through this approach educators seek to address the emotional, social, ethical, and academic needs of students in an integrated learning format. Emphasis is helping kids develop curiosity and better reasoning skills, communication and social skills.
Why is Holistic Learning Important for your child?
The goal of holistic education is to give shape to a developing child’s physical, emotional, moral, psychological, and spiritual dimensions. While there are plenty of reasons why holistic learning is important for your child, I have listed down a few for you:
- It encourages children to make connection in a subject, using their creative skills
- It helps them develop psychological, social, and emotional growth
- It makes learning natural and engaging for the children
- It motivates children to learn and know more about concepts that inspires them
- It makes learning a fun and meaningful experience for the learners
The benefits of holistic education are not just limited to the learners, it brings a number of benefits to the parents, schools, and communities as well — it’s a win-win for all. Through holistic education, students are empowered to improve their educational outcomes and acquire the life skills that are essential to take on a successful professional career.
Benefits of Holistic Education: In Detail
The benefits of learning through holistic approach is quite subjective. It may vary from student to student. However, there are general benefits that can be achieved by all.
Long-story-short, through this approach your children will learn to reflect on their actions and also recognize how they impact the global and local community, as well as how to learn from the surrounding community.
Here are three benefits of holistic education:
It helps in improving your kid’s academic achievement
It is a known fact that unfamiliar surroundings and people can provoke a stress response, which can damage a child’s learning abilities. Therefore, we need to provide our children a safe, responsive, and nurturing environment. This is an important part of supporting the learning and development of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
Holistic education enhances the academic achievements of your child by catering to individual learning styles and rendering a supportive learning environment, no matter the background and circumstances. That said, your child’s learning capacities are supercharged when he/she feels physically and emotionally safe and connected to others and the surrounding.
It enhances mental and emotional well-being of your child
Holistic education means creating a supportive environment, where social and emotional learning is emphasized. That means, along with academics, your child will have a better chance of developing with self-awareness, confidence, and a sense of social responsibility. This has become of paramount importance as their psychological well-being has been affected in many ways during the pandemic-imposed lockdowns.
Good emotional health reflects in a child’s habits and behaviour. Nurturing mental health and well-being in your children will help produce positive habits like friendliness, patience, and other essential reasoning skills and social skills. It will also help them understand their responsibilities better and make them better citizens.
It increases the problem-solving ability of your child
Kids who are delegated with solving real-world problems that exist in their communities come forth with strong critical-thinking skills. These hands-on experience enables your child to develop skills that will apply to their adult careers.
As your child grows and matures, he/she will know how to gather, analyse, and report data and how to collaborate with others. Effective problem-solving skills produce happier, more confident, and more independent individuals. When children confront and tackle problems on their own, or in a group, they become resilient and flexible to change. They learn to face challenges from a novel perspective. Moreover, they learn to handle time efficiently and develop patience.
The current situation of Covid and what you can do for your child
Covid is not over yet. The prolonged indoor stay has affected the psychological well-being of our children in many ways. Restriction of movement, inability to indulge in physical outdoor sports activities, reduced social contact with friends and classmates, monotonous daily routine — all these have a negative impact on our kids. There have been cases of anxiety, depression in children.
We understand, we’ve all been through tough times. But we also want to give our children a world which is no less than a happy place where they can have all the fun. And that’s why it is important to keep them engaged. No, not with smartphones and TV and all the entertainment, but with useful activities for your kids.
The best way to engage your kids would be to enrol them for interactive online workshops. We have been helping kids around the world develop reasoning skills through our live workshops. While we follow a holistic approach to educate, we ensure every child gets personalized attention and care.
Interested in helping your child develop logical reasoning and lateral thinking through my exclusive, out of the box activities? Click here.