[IAEP] When teaching restrains discovery

[Holt]

On 1/19/2011 1:29 PM, Christoph Derndorfer wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I just stumbled across this fascinating article called "When teaching
> restrains discovery"
> (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/01/18/when-teaching-restrains-discovery/)

Indeed such unstructured & unsupervised play (nevermind the outdoors!) 
may be "obsolete" in rich, overparented societies per "Last Child in the 
Woods" (Richard Louv, 336p, 2005), "Free-Range Kids" (Lenore Skenazy, 
256p, 2009), "Play Again" (2010 film) etc.

But the patient (exploratory learning) won't die without a fight -- 
witness the ongoing backlash against last week's "Why Chinese Mothers 
Are Superior" (WSJ, Jan 8 2011), "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" (Amy 
Chua, 256p, 2011) etc:

     The Unused Playground: Kids Need to be Out in Nature, Yet We Keep 
Them Caged. By Phil Primack
     ...studies, hearings, and slogans ("Leave No Child Inside") won't 
significantly reduce the great disconnect between kids and nature unless 
parents -- many raised amid "Stranger Danger" and other media-stoked 
fears themselves -- are willing to grant kids more freedom...
     
http://boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2010/09/12/the_unused_playground/

     Nature Deficit Disorder: Kids Who Don't Get Outside Can Pay To Play
     http://radioboston.wbur.org/2011/01/18/nature-deficit
     
http://feeds.wbur.org/~r/WBURRadioBoston/~5/6EoG_ogxORs/radioboston_0118.mp3
     (Listen from 15m40s to 35m06s)

     Amy Chua Is a Wimp: "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" may denounce 
soft American-style parenting, but its author shelters her children from 
the truly arduous experiences necessary to achieve.
     http://nytimes.com/2011/01/18/opinion/18brooks.html

--
Help kids everywhere map their world, at http://olpcMAP.net 
<http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http://olpcMAP.net> !

> which is based on a very recently published paper whose title really
> says it all "The double-edged sword of pedagogy: Instruction limits
> spontaneous exploration and discovery"
> (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T24-51WV6VK-1&_user=10&_coverDate=01/08/2011&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=b3319a977badfb35348871b64a9e1d4c&searchtype=a).
>
> Definitely well worth a read in my opinion. :-)
>
> Cheers,
> Christoph
>
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