Rather than educating children about specific cause areas, it seems better to teach them about basic conditions of the world (which are less likely to change by the time they’re adults).
I was a voracious reader in my youth, and what prepared me to be interested in things like EA was the books I read about what life was like in other countries — that’s how I learned how immensely fortunate I was to be living in the U.S., and how much a little extra money could mean to people in other countries.
I’m not sure what the best books are for accomplishing that, but I’d be looking for books to impart lessons like the following:
People in other places are just like us in the most important ways, but they might have a lot less money/food/access to education. And there are ways we can help them. (And we, your parents, are already doing those things.)
Science and technology have made life a lot better for many people. They have some bad consequences, too, but overall, they’ve been an overwhelmingly good thing. And you can be someone who makes these things, if you want. (Books about cool scientists and inventors probably aren’t hard to find.)
(If this fits your lifestyle.) Most animals on farms have hard lives. We try not to eat them. It’s okay if you have to eat meat (e.g. at a friend’s house), and other people aren’t bad people for eating meat, but you should consider being mostly vegetarian.
It’s really important for people to help each other. Kindness is one of the most important virtues. It’s especially important to help when other people don’t want to help, or when they don’t notice a problem.
Rather than educating children about specific cause areas, it seems better to teach them about basic conditions of the world (which are less likely to change by the time they’re adults).
I was a voracious reader in my youth, and what prepared me to be interested in things like EA was the books I read about what life was like in other countries — that’s how I learned how immensely fortunate I was to be living in the U.S., and how much a little extra money could mean to people in other countries.
I’m not sure what the best books are for accomplishing that, but I’d be looking for books to impart lessons like the following:
People in other places are just like us in the most important ways, but they might have a lot less money/food/access to education. And there are ways we can help them. (And we, your parents, are already doing those things.)
Science and technology have made life a lot better for many people. They have some bad consequences, too, but overall, they’ve been an overwhelmingly good thing. And you can be someone who makes these things, if you want. (Books about cool scientists and inventors probably aren’t hard to find.)
(If this fits your lifestyle.) Most animals on farms have hard lives. We try not to eat them. It’s okay if you have to eat meat (e.g. at a friend’s house), and other people aren’t bad people for eating meat, but you should consider being mostly vegetarian.
It’s really important for people to help each other. Kindness is one of the most important virtues. It’s especially important to help when other people don’t want to help, or when they don’t notice a problem.