Someone I love was recently telling me about the back-to-school supplies they had to buy for their middle- and elementary-school-aged kids. The schools’ lists specified materials down to the colors. Red folder for reading, green folder for writing, blue folder for ‘rithmetic? It bothered me. How will these kids learn what works for them?
It’s fun to read about the habits and routines of successful and entrepreneurial people. But all of the books and articles add up to the same thing: “This is what works for me.” Success means having the self-knowledge and the confidence to do what works for you.
My expertise is in Operations, so I know the value of systems. I also know they don’t come as easily to everyone else as they do to me. Systems need to be implemented and taught, even if only by and to oneself. Yes, there is value and necessity in teaching kids systems that will help them succeed. But what about the kids whose minds don’t work in red-blue-green folders but in pomodoros? Or something else entirely? Where is the time and space for them to figure out what works for them?
Someday, maybe sooner than they expect, these kids will be asked to accomplish something by an adult who won’t tell them which folders to use and how. When that day comes, will they have the self-knowledge and the confidence to make sure the task gets done?
Liz Welsh 