The Navy has, or used to have, a program called Sea Perch. It teaches Middle Schoolers quite a bit about using tools. Students make a ‘vehicle’ that can be maneuvered underwater using PVC cutters, drills, and soldering irons, among other things. I never quite liked the word ‘vehicle’ in connection with the device because it [...]
I read a remarkable article (and by remarkable I mean, written about some incredibly self-deluded and weird people) the other day from the Guardian, an English source that I occasionally see links to.https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/may/25/american-pronatalists-malcolm-and-simone-collins Although the story is from an English journalist, it was about an American couple with three children, living in the country. They [...]
I liked Daniel Willingham as preparation for trying to teach in school. Before that I read John Holt (but I don’t remember which books) a homeschooling guru. He believed children should learn by seeing and doing. He believed in showing children a lot of tools and processes. My favorite John Holt story was about his [...]
Last week I wrote about Daniel Willingham’s book, Why Don’t Students Like School. I’ve been rereading it, and it’s fascinating all over again. It’s also a very odd experience, because he wrote a lot about memory and how it relates to thinking. One of his most important points in the beginning is this. A mind [...]
I’ve read a lot, recently, about concerns over children using electronic media, too early in their lives, and too often. It’s been a concern for a long time; I remember my father pointing to his temple and saying “TV rots the brain.” There’s a book review by T. Mattingly on The Anxious Generation by Jonathan [...]
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