Full PreFrontal: Exposing the Mysteries of Executive Function

Ep. 143: Esther Wojcicki - The Secret to Raising Successful People

Mar 23, 2021

Esther Wojcicki, a prominent educator and author, shares her innovative approach to raising successful individuals. She emphasizes the importance of empowering children to be self-reliant and embrace their mistakes. Esther highlights her TRICK method—Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, and Kindness—as a framework for fostering independence. She discusses the significance of emotional courage in learning and shares insights on non-traditional educational paths. Parents are encouraged to partner with their children, promoting emotional growth and cultivating resilience.

01:02:50

Episode guests

Esther Wojcicki

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Quick takeaways

Empowering children involves allowing them to make mistakes, fostering their confidence, clarity, and courage through independent decision-making.

Esther Wojcicki's TRICK philosophy—Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, Kindness—creates a nurturing environment for self-reliant learners to thrive.

Collaboration between parents and children enhances decision-making skills and instills a sense of responsibility, preparing them for leadership in the future.

Deep dives

The Role of Executive Function in Success

Executive function, governed by the prefrontal cortex, is essential for managing focus, planning, problem-solving, and emotional regulation. As emphasized by cognitive neuropsychologist Stanislas Dehaene, these skills are increasingly recognized as the most vital tools for success in modern life. A well-developed prefrontal cortex enables individuals to set and achieve goals while making informed decisions. The conversation highlights how understanding and enhancing executive function can lead to a more productive and fulfilling life.

Intro

3min

Empowering Self-Reliance in Children

13min

Empowering Emotional Courage and Innovative Learning Paths

3min

Reassurance for Parents: Embracing Non-Traditional Education

3min

Empowering Independence Through Trust

28min

Embracing Pandemic Lessons

7min

Empowering Parenting Through Courage and Literature

3min

Exploring the Psychology of Evil and Empathy

3min

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The true meaning of empowering children is to help them claim the rights to their own life so that they can lead with a sense of confidence, clarity, and courage. The key is to trust children to make their own mistakes while trusting yourself to resist the temptation of wanting to do everything for them.

On this episode, leading American educator, author of the book How to Raise Successful People, Vice Chair of Creative Commons, journalist and mother of three accomplished daughters, Esther Wojcicki, discusses how to raise and teach children to become independent thinkers and self-reliant learners. By handing more control over to children, adults are likely to promote the growth of their pre-frontal cortex and inadvertently strengthen their Executive Function for life.

About Esther Wojcicki
Esther Wojcicki is famous for three things: teaching a high school class that has changed the lives of thousands of kids, inspiring Silicon Valley legends like Steve Jobs, and raising three daughters who have each become famously successful. What do these three accomplishments have in common? They are the result of TRICK, Esther’s secret to raising successful people: Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, and Kindness. Simple lessons, but the results are radical. Esther Wojcicki is a leading American educator and journalist. Mother of YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, Fulbright scholar Janet Wojcicki, and 23&Me founder Anne Wojcicki, as well as a teacher and mentor to James Franco and Lisa Brennan-Jobs, Esther is widely heralded as the most successful parent and educator in the United States. Esther offers essential lessons for raising, educating, and managing people to their highest potential. She is the author of Moonshots in Education (2014) and best seller How to Raise Successful People (May, 2019). She is co founder of Tract.app (2020) an innovative way to empower students using a peer to peer model.

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About Host, Sucheta Kamath
Sucheta Kamath, is an award-winning speech-language pathologist, a TEDx speaker, a celebrated community leader, and the founder and CEO of ExQ®. As an EdTech entrepreneur, Sucheta has designed ExQ's personalized digital learning curriculum/tool that empowers middle and high school students to d

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