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In addition to reading, writing, and arithmetic, all kids need to learn self-awareness, self-regulation, and communication as part of their core curriculum. Just as we teach history and geography, we need to teach children how their brains and bodies work. For adults and children alike, being in control of ourselves requires becoming familiar with our inner world and accurately identifying what scares, upsets, or delights us.

— Bessel van der Kolk

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "In addition to reading, writing, and arithmetic, all kids need to learn self-awareness, self-regulation, and communication as part of their core curriculum. Just as we teach history and geography, we need to teach children how their brains and bodies work. For adults and children alike, being in control of ourselves requires becoming familiar with our inner world and accurately identifying what scares, upsets, or delights us." in the context of "" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bessel van der Kolk

About Bessel van der Kolk

Bessel van der Kolk (born 1943) is a psychiatrist, author, researcher and educator who was born in the Netherlands and is now based in Boston, USA. Since the 1970s his research has been in the area of post-traumatic stress.