| § Creative | § Independent |
| § Critical thinking | § Curious |
| § Resourceful | § Experimenting |
| § Persevering | § Motivated |
| § Able to learn from mistakes | § Self-disciplined |
| § Committed to growth | § Confident |
| § An individual thinker | § Well-rounded |
A board game about ancient Rome students created using the thinking skill of synthesis
We wanted to associate our name with the image that Thomas Edison conjures to people’s mind.
EDISON Explorerä is a product of EDISON Enterprises Sdn. Bhd. It was started in 2002 and caters to children ages 6 –12.
The idea for this program came from tutoring three boys in thinking skills after Ms. Delph left HELP University College. The boys loved the lessons and that’s when Ms. Delph realized that this idea could be expanded into a program to positively influence the lives of more children using critical and creative thinking.
From there, other programs were developed such as the EDISON Youth Achievement Award in 2006 for teens and Online Courses for secondary school students in 2008.
Probably one of the biggest threats, here in Malaysia, to developing our children and young people holistically may be an educational system that streams children according to results on exams. This places pressure to perform well on exams to gain places in higher ranked classes or to maintain a school’s reputation or just to look better against other students.
To get the results on exams, parents and students turn to tuition. But this overlooks the bigger picture of what learning should be. Any program that sets itself out to develop children must aim its instruction toward a bigger picture that goes beyond school performance. This is what all programs, courses and trainings aim to do at EDISON Enterprises.
Students completing a community service project to give away sunflowers to neighbors
Tuition | Programs, Courses and Trainings Offered by EDISON Enterprises |
▪ Memorize and drill in facts ▪ Instills fear with learning, especially fear of failure ▪ Far from fun ▪ Largely didactic and one way ▪ Limited post-school application ▪ Exam centered and short-sighted ▪ Increases dependence and spoon-feeding | ▪ Discover and understand facts and concepts ▪ Nurtures the joy of learning ▪ Far from boring ▪ Mostly facilitative and interactive ▪ Vital skills for post-school life ▪ Success-centered and far-sighted ▪ Fosters independence and resourcefulness |
All programs from EDISON Enterprises were developed in response to a need to address an over-emphasis on exams and tuition. There is a need to see the bigger picture of what we are preparing future generations for that goes beyond exams.
| § | The world is moving from an industrial and service economy to a creative economy. Tony Buzan, the famous promoter of mind mapping, has estimated that starting 2007 50% of jobs will revolve around creativity. Our children will also need critical and creative thinking to adapt to a globalized world with globalized challenges such as scarcity of natural resources, conflicts between countries and new and more virulent diseases. |
| § | Our children need to be given the opportunity to develop and use their minds and talents to their maximum potential in order to capitalize on the knowledge economy. Otherwise, Malaysia will be left behind and our bright young minds will continue to migrate to other countries where they have greater opportunities to develop and use their talents. |
| § | Our children need the chance to become involved in the community through community service. They need to see that there is a world outside of class rankings, exam scores and other self-interests. Environmental issues, world conflicts, crime and abuse are all symptoms of a world that needs caring individuals to step outside of themselves and lend a hand. |
Catch Amy's Interview on BFM 89.9 Fm about critical and creative thinking. Click 
