children

I just watched a wonderful TED talk by Gever Tulley, on 5 Dangerous Things to encourage kids to do. Mr. Tulley has founded a school called “The Tinkering School,” a summer camp that helps elementary age children learn how to take things apart and how to put other things back together using a wide variety of tools, including power tools. This concept flies in the face of the American attitude that no amount of risk is acceptable. However, as Mr. Tulley points out in his talk, if you protect your children at all times from everything that is sharper than a golf ball, the first time they encounter anything sharp, they will really hurt themselves. Read the rest of this entry »