Why School? by Will Richardson
In his book, Will describes his son's introduction to the world of Minecraft and how mesmerizing it was to watch the skill set his son employs to learn all about this new online world. This mirrors my own experiences with my own children! We have Tech Tickets -each one good for 30 minutes of screen time. They can be earned, traded and taken away. It is our way of trying to protect that brilliant necessity of childhood -play. But, as my children grow, reality is beginning to set in. Their childhood will be different than my own. No longer are there spontaneous knocks on the front door, "Can Z come out at play?", parents are working, kids are at camp or rep hockey practice. Play is arranged just like a dentist appointment!! But perhaps the spontaneous play is happening -but online!
Will Richardson's first chapter talks about the need for reform in education and how, at this point in time, education has a choice to make. It immediately reminded me of this video -a TedX talk about a young man who had the opportunity to take control of his learning.
Wow! what an awesome young man! He has great potential .....but who prompted him? This reminds me of why parents are such an important part of their children's education. Motivation is key to everything!
ReplyDeleteAlso love your Tech Tickets Plan .... i shall try it out with my grandsons they are always fighting over the computer.