5 dangerous things you should let your kids do.
In this pre-conference talk from TED, Gever Tulley discusses his Tinkering School camp.
Allowing kids the freedom to explore, he says, will make them stronger and smarter and actually safer. This talk comes from TED University 2007, a pre-conference program where TEDsters share ideas.
Got your link to this from Twitter earlier. Thanks for posting it. There is a bit to think about to inspire the creativity and right brains of our kids. Reminds me of a comedian I heard once who has a series called “Put a Helmet on.” Funny stuff, but lots to think about really.
Posted on December 25, 2007 at 1:22 pm.
Hi Tim,
Enjoyed this very much (and sent it to my daughter and son-in-law).
An interesting extension might be to ask what “dangerous” things we ought be letting kids do on the Internet. I call this letting kids make “safe mistakes.”
http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2007/11/15/safe-mistakes.html
Thanks for sharing the link to the video. Happy New Year!
Doug
Posted on December 28, 2007 at 6:17 am.
Doug,
I’ve always called that Giving students the opportunity to fail in a safe environment. Glad to hear others do the same thing. I always get odd looks when I mention it to teachers. They don’t think I should let kids fail. Hmm.
Posted on December 28, 2007 at 8:52 am.
Hi,
I wrote to Gever tully that I was 5 for 5 with my two boys. Of course everyone else thinks I’m crazy but I think their souls are fed by this kind of activity. They dig holes, set off fireworks, make rocket fuel, have climbed on our roof for a long time, and scrounged for discarded mechanical things to take apart.
What’s a little singed hair when their creative and mechanical minds are let free. The down side is that we have to commute to work so we can live in the boonies where they have ponds to walk to and places to roam. A small price.
At least they aren’t playing video games or fighting with me!
Ha!
P. Nielsen
Posted on October 22, 2008 at 1:31 pm.