Best of the Web: the Skill Needed for Jobs of the Future, Understanding Grumpy Teenagers, and You are not your ATAR

This is the one skill your child needs for jobs of the future

(Mirjam Schoning and Christian Witcomb, The Lego Foundation, World Economic Forum)

The authors mount a case for the value of play as a means of lifelong learning. Given they work for The Lego Foundation, they would say that, wouldn’t they? Yet they make a strong argument for how play can deliver the skills that will be needed in the future, such as complex problem-solving, critical thinking and creativity. They caution against directed learning and ‘schoolification’.

Why Your Grumpy Teenager Doesn’t Want to Talk to You

(Lisa Damour, The New York Times)

Have you ever felt just a little hurt when you’ve tried to offer support to your grumpy teenager, only to be rebuffed? It might help if you understood the possible reasons for their reticence, writes the author, a psychologist. Teenagers might worry they will get the wrong reaction if they open up. (This includes the tempting ‘I told you so’ response). Other times, talking isn’t what’s needed –  rather it may be allowing them some time alone or offering comfort food.

I got a high ATAR score – but I realise now it wasn’t really worth it

(Lisa Wells, The Age)

As we approach VCE results day, this first-person piece tries to put the whole Year 12 experience into some perspective. The author notes that there are many stories of people working hard at school, and going on to further success. Then there are people like her, who studied hard (her ATAR was 97.95) and later realised it wasn’t worth it. After nine years in marketing, the author became a writer. ‘Use your passion to decide your direction,’ she writes. ‘Not your score.’

Three tips for parents to put away their phones

(Maryam Abdullah, Greater Good Magazine)

This report captures the growing body of research that suggests the way parents use smartphones is having a detrimental effect on their children. In one study, the researchers found children’s athletic performance deteriorated when their parents on the sidelines were immersed in their phones. The author accepts smartphones as part of life, but suggests strategies for parents to make sure the devices don’t get in the way of good parenting.

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