Well-Rounded People

Background

I put a lot of thought into what sort of skills I want to teach my kids (when I have them). In particular, I wanted to focus on teaching them life skills that aren’t taught properly in schools, skills that require rote learning and regular practice and anything that is required to become a well-rounded self-sufficient person. It’s a huge undertaking, I know. But I figured that if I drew up plans, mapped out the process and shared it with other people that maybe we could all learn and benefit from the experience. I focused on compartmentalising skills so that I ensure I teach each area sufficiently. After categorising, I realised that these are all skills that any person might want to improve in some way.

Information Processing

Success depends on many things, but a person who can prove they are intelligent has a headstart from the rest of the pack. Unfortunately, many intelligent people fail to impress other intelligent people because they lack skills in one of these three main areas.

1. Researching and Receiving Information
2. Processing Information
3. Delivering Information

For instance:

• If you are in a foreign land and can’t understand what someone is saying, you may find yourself looking very foolish.
• Some academics spend so much time alone that they fail to deliver their findings in a manner that interests other people.
• The intelligent person who fails to do their research before debating a topic.

All of these scenarios are very typical of many people. To successfully show your intelligence, all three areas of researching, processing and delivering information must be addressed.

Well-Rounded People

As well as information processing, there are a lot of skills one needs to become a well-rounded person.

• Personal Skills / Communication Skills
• Life Skills / Home Skills / Survival Skills
• General Knowledge / Rote Learning / Pieces of Paper
• Presentation Skills (Personal presentation and holistic presentation)
• Business Skills / Entrepreneurial Skills / Finance Skills
• Activity Skills / Rote Learning / Wow Factor Skills

Gaining a well-rounded general education is something I don’t believe many schools do very well. I feel there are plenty of topics I’d love to revisit and learn more about and I won’t be relying on schools to deliver this information to my kids. So, I plan to learn and teach a little from each of the following areas on a regular basis for the rest of my life.

The following list replaces the previous list by covering each of the relevant points and incorporating more general studies.

Part 1

• Researching and Receiving Information: Research – Reading – Comprehension – Language
• Processing Information: Planning – Understanding – Information Management – Thinking – Imagination – Memory – Skepticism
• Delivering Information: Writing – Speaking – Communication – Presentation – Etiquette – Marketing

Part 2

• Arts – Culture – Literature – Music
• Agriculture – Environment – Gardening
• Business – Money – Self-help – Career
• Critical Thinking – Philosophy – Mind Training
• Domesticity – Cooking – Sewing – Organising – Gardening – Decorating – Entertaining – DIY
• Geek Stuff – Maths – Science – Engineering
• Health – Nutrition – Mental Health
• History – Geography – Travel
• Inspiration – Ideas – Creative
• Languages – Linguistics
• Parenting – Teaching
• Politics – Law – War – Criminology – Activism
• Skills – Outdoor – Activities – DIY
• Social Science – Anthropology – Psychology

Now, each of these sections is just a start. If I keep adding posts and pages for each section then eventually, maybe, one day I will have a comprehensive picture.

Also, when I do have kids I hope to share how I am teaching these things. And believe me, I’ll be asking how other people have managed to do so.