Bear with me ... there's a point to this.
On Terry O'Reilly's "The Age of Persuasion" this past weekend, he mentioned that women will spend 8 on years of their lives shopping.
............................
Two moments stand out for me when thinking about my husband's approach to parenting. Some of you may be familiar with him from my Tales of an Unusual Childhood blog. The majority of his childhood was spent blissfully unsupervised as his family roamed the world. Blowing up toy boxes and building cannons that could knock a hole in a brick wall were regular occurrences. He's a tinkerer; he likes to play and he has endless patience (more so than me) with children. Anytime he undertakes a project, he involves the girls and makes the project seem like play.
The first time I truly realized the kind of children he was raising occurred when my eldest who was then in grade 7 raced in the door after school one day, and announced, "I need to use the skill-saw." She proceeded to build herself a large hinged box for a science project.
The second involved soldering. My husband was installing something in the car which provided him the opportunity to introduce soldering to the girls. The three of them disappeared into the basement from where much laughter and giggling could be heard. He emerged 20 minutes later to put on his coat and head out the door on what was an extremely snowy day.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to buy wire."
"Wire? I thought you had wire?"
"We need more colours. We're making bracelets." His car project was placed on hold and he allowed the girls to proceed with their interest. He really didn't care. Car or bracelets. He was playing. That's what mattered.
This contrasts distinctly with my own experience of tools as a child. My father was also a tinkerer, but had grown up in an era when things were done right the first time, where a poor decision might lead to crop failure, death of an animal or death of a family member. He had an enormous workshop where every tool had a place and heaven help you if you borrowed one and put it back in the wrong spot. When he undertook a project our instinct was to scatter so as not to be drawn into the project as our sole responsibility would be to fetch and hold tools. Tools and I were not friends.
But we should be. The question becomes, where can an adult who wishes to learn how to tinker, explore ideas and learn from people who view technology as play, go?
I ask this not as just a female who has no desire to waste 8 years of her life shopping, but as an educator who has observed the conversation threads of social media over the past year. Innovation is occurring. A new world is emerging and this world requires tech savvy, creative thinkers willing to play.
This is seen in the explosion of DIY culture and cultural events. Look no further than Dan Donahoo to see how this culture is unfolding. While the headlines focus on doom and gloom, there is a globally connected group of innovative thinkers developing a way of interacting where ideas, creativity, purpose and sharing are the currency. And if you are of a practical bent, it's where the jobs are.
If we are to truly reinvent our schools into places where developing innovative ideas is privileged rather than following instructions, then DIY culture and DIY attitude must be brought into our practice.
To explore this further, tonight I am heading out with Zoe Branigan-Pipe to http://www.thinkhaus.org/about-us/. I get to play with lasers? I'm in!
On Terry O'Reilly's "The Age of Persuasion" this past weekend, he mentioned that women will spend 8 on years of their lives shopping.
............................
Two moments stand out for me when thinking about my husband's approach to parenting. Some of you may be familiar with him from my Tales of an Unusual Childhood blog. The majority of his childhood was spent blissfully unsupervised as his family roamed the world. Blowing up toy boxes and building cannons that could knock a hole in a brick wall were regular occurrences. He's a tinkerer; he likes to play and he has endless patience (more so than me) with children. Anytime he undertakes a project, he involves the girls and makes the project seem like play.
The first time I truly realized the kind of children he was raising occurred when my eldest who was then in grade 7 raced in the door after school one day, and announced, "I need to use the skill-saw." She proceeded to build herself a large hinged box for a science project.
The second involved soldering. My husband was installing something in the car which provided him the opportunity to introduce soldering to the girls. The three of them disappeared into the basement from where much laughter and giggling could be heard. He emerged 20 minutes later to put on his coat and head out the door on what was an extremely snowy day.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to buy wire."
"Wire? I thought you had wire?"
"We need more colours. We're making bracelets." His car project was placed on hold and he allowed the girls to proceed with their interest. He really didn't care. Car or bracelets. He was playing. That's what mattered.
This contrasts distinctly with my own experience of tools as a child. My father was also a tinkerer, but had grown up in an era when things were done right the first time, where a poor decision might lead to crop failure, death of an animal or death of a family member. He had an enormous workshop where every tool had a place and heaven help you if you borrowed one and put it back in the wrong spot. When he undertook a project our instinct was to scatter so as not to be drawn into the project as our sole responsibility would be to fetch and hold tools. Tools and I were not friends.
But we should be. The question becomes, where can an adult who wishes to learn how to tinker, explore ideas and learn from people who view technology as play, go?
I ask this not as just a female who has no desire to waste 8 years of her life shopping, but as an educator who has observed the conversation threads of social media over the past year. Innovation is occurring. A new world is emerging and this world requires tech savvy, creative thinkers willing to play.
This is seen in the explosion of DIY culture and cultural events. Look no further than Dan Donahoo to see how this culture is unfolding. While the headlines focus on doom and gloom, there is a globally connected group of innovative thinkers developing a way of interacting where ideas, creativity, purpose and sharing are the currency. And if you are of a practical bent, it's where the jobs are.
If we are to truly reinvent our schools into places where developing innovative ideas is privileged rather than following instructions, then DIY culture and DIY attitude must be brought into our practice.
To explore this further, tonight I am heading out with Zoe Branigan-Pipe to http://www.thinkhaus.org/about-us/. I get to play with lasers? I'm in!
Your husband/father of your children is THE BEST! I will always remember how he taught my 8 year old how to put in new memory for our desktop.
ReplyDeleteI am so thrilled to have access both your enthusiasm in your zest for life and learning outside the box.........Lynda
Hi Lynda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words. I will pass them along. :)