Alternative education

[Maarit]

Hi,

I found two very interesting TED talks about education and I am going to write about them.

The first talk is from Gever Tulley who gave a presentation which name is "Five Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do" and these five things are
1. Play with fire
2. Own a pocketknife
3. Throw a spear
4. Deconstruct appliances
5. Break a law

Gever Tulley encourages parents and teachers teach also dangerous things to their children. He said that the reason of writing this article is that societies in Europe and the United States try to protect their children and do not let them do anything which can be dangerous. Of course it is good to save children from bad things but if it leads to a situation in which everything is prohibited then it has no sense.

He gives some examples:
“We put warnings on coffee cups to tell us that the contents may be hot”. This sentence really sounds quite stupid because everybody should know that coffee is hot drink. In addition he writes:
“We seem to think that any item sharper than a golf ball is too sharp for children under the age of 10”. That is the reason why there must be warnings everywhere. “Do not do that”… Be careful…. After reading these warnings we are not able to do anything.

Well…I have not taught my 7-year-olds play with fire or given them a pocketknife but later they have learned these skills or got a pocketknife. However my children have deconstructed appliances and in some situation (not very often) I have broken a law. Throwing spear could be very nice…I have not any experience about it.

Then I heard Faith Jegede`s TED talk: “What I've learned from my autistic brothers”. Faith Jegede tells the moving and funny story of growing up with her two brothers, both autistic — and both extraordinary. She asked that we would not say that she is normal but that she is extraordinary like as all of us.

I have read Mark Haddon`s book “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” at least 3 times because it is really the good book. It tells about a 10-year-old boy, Christopher, who has Asperger’s syndrome. One reader has illustrated the main character in this way:
“Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow”.

Actually I love this book very much because my own son has similarities with Christopher. My son is very skillfull with Maths and Statistics but he has problems to understand human emotions.

Take care,
Maarit

[Admin]

Thanks for your message Maarit. You wrote excellent summaries of the TED talks - very interesting subject.I have a cousin in the States whose son has some form of Asperger's. As a child he had a very hard time dealing with people, but now apparently he has a girlfriend, he got through college and he's holding a steady job. So my cousin is extremely happy - when he was younger she was doubtful whether he would be able to live an independent life.
And about the over-protection of children: I agree. How will kids face danger if they have no experience of it? I'm amazed about families here in Spain: they won't let 12-year-old kids go to the supermarket around the corner to buy bread, they take their children to school and pick them up as well until they are really quite big! But I'm not a parent, so what do I know! :)
Some small things:
teachers teach also dangerous things= ..teachers TO teach... (encourage someone to do something)
taught my 7-year-olds play with fire= . TO play with fire (teach someone to do something)
I have not any experience about it.= Better: I have never tried it.
She asked that we would not say that she is normal but that she is extraordinary like as all of us. = This sentence is difficult to understand. Can you explain?
It tells about a 10-year-old boy = Options here: It talks about a boy / It's about a boy / It tells the story of a boy

All the best,
Pieter