Children today need stronger critical thinking than ever before. The world is flooding them with fake news and half-truths, which they need to learn to filter out from the information noise. In order for this to be as easy as possible for them later on, it is important for them to be aware from a very young age that no one, not even their parents and teachers, is infallible.
Critical thinking has many components, including data interpretation, recognizing misconceptions, but intellectual humility is also very important – that is, being aware that everyone can be wrong.
If parents and teachers keep this in mind during their upbringing, they give children the opportunity to develop a healthy scepticism. To achieve this goal, it is important for children to occasionally hear the following two short sentences from the adults who deal with them: ‘I don’t know’, ‘I was wrong’.
Intellectual humility is important
The name of Canadian-American psychologist Albert Bandura is associated with the theory of social learning, in which he formulated that children learn from what they are told, on the one hand, and imitate what adults do, on the other.
Therefore, if adults admit their uncertainty or are able to revise their previous beliefs, they serve as a good example for children of how an adult, rational person deals with incomplete information.
Intellectual humility during upbringing can also have additional benefits. In a 2024 study, Tenelle Porter and her colleagues found that when teachers are able to demonstrate intellectual humility, that is, admit to children that they are confused about a situation or simply that they do not know, students become more committed and motivated to learn.
Of course, this is not easy for adults, because, especially due to the Prussian-style upbringing common in some educational systems, there is a tradition that the adult is the one who knows everything.
Even though the parents, the teacher, set the limits, and indeed they know more and it is their job to teach the child, it is important to realize and communicate that they are not infallible.
If we as adults are willing to accept this fact and include the phrases ‘I was wrong’ or ‘I don’t know’ in our active vocabulary, we have come one step closer to admitting to ourselves and to our children that we are not omniscient, and thus avoiding misinformation.
At the same time, we can also make it obvious to the child that there is always room for improvement, learning, and no one should believe anything without thinking and criticizing.
Source: Psychologytoday.com