The famed Danish physicist Niels Bohr once pointed out that "opposites are not contradictory, but complementary." New knowledge may seem to contradict the old, but if we can keep an open mind, we can discover usable knowledge in both realms, as upsetting as the new knowledge may seem to be at first.
This is exactly what Gina Carroll has done in her September 14 blog BlogHer: "Rethinking Study Habits: New Studies Shakes Things Up". Clearly unafraid of mental rock 'n' rolling, the author looks at new studies that suggest, for example, that students learn better when various subjects are combined in a single study session.
 
Carroll wisely points out that homework time presents a "dizzying variety of functions and tasks." (The same could be said of school itself. And, to be sure, it could be said of life itself.) Helping children maintain their equilibrium, emotionally and intellectually, when facing this dizzying array is the aim of parents and Think Tutoring instructors alike.
 
Carroll suggests studying the new knowledge in order to learn if it really contradicts our long-held beliefs. It is very likely that the new knowledge can actually serve as a tool for extending our existing knowledge base.
 
Here at Knowledge Points, our math tutors and reading tutors have a base from which they work with our students. But that base is ever-increasing, ever-improving as research is conducted and results reports. Our business, after all, is focused on growth, in its many forms.
 
Our next blog will deal with ways you can use this idea of complementary opposites as you help your child hone his or her problem-solving skills. In the interim, discuss the idea of opposites with your child. Explore, for example, famous quotations that lend themselves to this idea. For instance, there is a Scottish proverb that maintains that whoever wishes to be a leader must also be a bridge. And leaders do bridge--the old and the new, the past and the present, the past and the future, the art and the science of knowledge, and so on. You'll find others and will increase your child's critical thinking skills as you explore possible interpretations.