14: Toys are the new textbooks – Empathy and emotional intelligence w/ Ilana Ben-Ari

Reading, writing and arithmetic will be replaced by empathy, social intelligence and creative problem solving.

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Reading, writing and arithmetic will be replaced by empathy, social intelligence and creative problem solving.

Ilana Ben-Ari is the founder and CEO of Twenty One Toys. The company’s first product The Empathy Toy, is now used in thousands of schools, homes and corporations across 45 countries. It was featured in TIME as one of 6 new technologies shaping classrooms and offices of the future. In this episode, we discuss the rise of her toy start-up, how to teach empathy and “soft skills”, why toys are the new textbooks, and the gap between what kids are being taught vs. what jobs will actually exist when they graduate.