“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
I never liked this question. I think it’s limiting. Here is why.
😲 It focuses on a job/career as a person’s identity.
😀 Who a person is more important that what job they have.
😲 It focuses on coming up with an answer that would be acceptable to the asker of the question.
😀 Through our reactions, children can learn to please and answer the question “correctly” rather than be authentic.
😲 It focuses on a future in which the child will be a valuable member of society.
😀 Children are valuable now.
😲 It focuses on what the child might be interested in the future.
😀 Children have real interests now.
😲 It puts the emphasis and pressure on figuring out ONE job.
😀 People often have many jobs over their lifetimes and even more than one at a time.
😲 It focuses only on traditional jobs or jobs that the child might know about.
😀 It doesn’t expand the mind or help imagine the work of the future.
So, what are some questions we could ask to get children thinking about who they are, what inspires them, what value they can add, and how they can be of service to the world?
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Here are a some that I thought of
👉What are you most excited about in your life right now?
👉What do you really enjoy doing?
👉What problems do you like solving?
👉What problem would you like to solve?
👉Who do you admire? What do you most appreciate about him/her?
With love and respect,
Drew