05-31-2011, 11:06 PM
Hi,
Perhaps. But I fear I've not made my point.
It is not the type of material that I'm concerned with. And it really isn't just a question of keeping kids entertained or quiet on trips. It is the more general tendency to remove all free and independent activities from children's lives that worries me.
While the TV, DVD, iPod, portable game device, etc., etc. are great for distracting (and possibly educating, but more on that below), they all share the common trait of focusing the mind on the subject coming in. The torrent of noise coming in drowns out that little voice that questions, that wonders, that fantasizes, that creates. Einstein tells us that he conceived special relativity as a young teen by imagining what an electromagnetic wave would look like to someone traveling at the speed of light. Had he spent every waking moment watching Universe and playing video games, would he have ever conceived of that image?
And it isn't just in mental pastimes that this phenomenon occurs. Sure, we played stick ball in NY, and football, etc., in Wilkes-Barre. But we also made up games, or modified the 'rules' (really, more like guidelines) of old games (army) to suit ourselves. We played some under the auspices of adults who called balls and strikes, but we also played a lot under no supervision at all.
And nobody back then took classes on how to build car models, or flying model airplanes, or playing an instrument (well, a few took piano lessons, but most just picked things out for themselves, at least at first), or sewing, knitting, etc. At most, sometimes, an adult would demonstrate, but the emphasis (not always intentionally) was more on learning than on teaching.
The tendency seems to have become for everything to be scheduled, planned, organized, etc. A great way to turn out nice, docile, well behaved robots -- but not too good for turning out the irascible, questioning, innovative people that demand and cause change.
Perhaps that is why my generation actually protested an unnecessary war and the modern generation is perfectly happy to ignore two which are equally as bad.
Even puppies need some free play, or they grow to be neurotic dogs.
--Pete
(05-31-2011, 04:44 PM)kandrathe Wrote: But, perhaps I'm more devious than DeeBye... :-)
Perhaps. But I fear I've not made my point.
It is not the type of material that I'm concerned with. And it really isn't just a question of keeping kids entertained or quiet on trips. It is the more general tendency to remove all free and independent activities from children's lives that worries me.
While the TV, DVD, iPod, portable game device, etc., etc. are great for distracting (and possibly educating, but more on that below), they all share the common trait of focusing the mind on the subject coming in. The torrent of noise coming in drowns out that little voice that questions, that wonders, that fantasizes, that creates. Einstein tells us that he conceived special relativity as a young teen by imagining what an electromagnetic wave would look like to someone traveling at the speed of light. Had he spent every waking moment watching Universe and playing video games, would he have ever conceived of that image?
And it isn't just in mental pastimes that this phenomenon occurs. Sure, we played stick ball in NY, and football, etc., in Wilkes-Barre. But we also made up games, or modified the 'rules' (really, more like guidelines) of old games (army) to suit ourselves. We played some under the auspices of adults who called balls and strikes, but we also played a lot under no supervision at all.
And nobody back then took classes on how to build car models, or flying model airplanes, or playing an instrument (well, a few took piano lessons, but most just picked things out for themselves, at least at first), or sewing, knitting, etc. At most, sometimes, an adult would demonstrate, but the emphasis (not always intentionally) was more on learning than on teaching.
The tendency seems to have become for everything to be scheduled, planned, organized, etc. A great way to turn out nice, docile, well behaved robots -- but not too good for turning out the irascible, questioning, innovative people that demand and cause change.
Perhaps that is why my generation actually protested an unnecessary war and the modern generation is perfectly happy to ignore two which are equally as bad.
Even puppies need some free play, or they grow to be neurotic dogs.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?