Five dangerous things
Categories: Fun & activities, Places to go, Health & safety, Development, That's entertainment
Gever Tulley is a software engineer by trade, but what has really gotten him noticed is being the co-founder of the Tinkering School, a week-long camp that puts power tools in the hands of second-graders. He has also participated in TED University last year where he gave a spectacular talk about 5 dangerous things you ought to let your kids do.
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design and is a conference (and, now, other activities) intended to bring great thinkers from these three areas together to see what can be accomplished. Tulley's TEDTalk is part of a backlash against the over-sanitizing of our world, turning it into a place where kids can't run around on playgrounds for fear of running into poles and children don't play competitive games for fear of losing.
In his talk, Tulley covers six things he thinks every child should do, including play with fire, own a pocket knife, and take appliances apart. This goes along with the movement represented best, perhaps, by the popular book The Dangerous Book for Boys. Believe it or not, I actually agree with Tulley. As soon as my kids are old enough, I hope to send them to the Tinkering School. In the meantime, check out the video and see what you think.
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design and is a conference (and, now, other activities) intended to bring great thinkers from these three areas together to see what can be accomplished. Tulley's TEDTalk is part of a backlash against the over-sanitizing of our world, turning it into a place where kids can't run around on playgrounds for fear of running into poles and children don't play competitive games for fear of losing.
In his talk, Tulley covers six things he thinks every child should do, including play with fire, own a pocket knife, and take appliances apart. This goes along with the movement represented best, perhaps, by the popular book The Dangerous Book for Boys. Believe it or not, I actually agree with Tulley. As soon as my kids are old enough, I hope to send them to the Tinkering School. In the meantime, check out the video and see what you think.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Karen 4-07-2008 @ 11:24AM
I totally agree that we are protecting our children and keeping them from developing by saying everything is dangerous!
And a great place for many boys to get this experience is through the Boyscouts. I love that my son gets to shoot BB guns and gets to do archery. I love that he constructs bridges so he can get across the creek and that he has a knife and knows how to use it. Last week was another opportunity to use power tools as he worked on his Pinewood Derby car.
I know Roger doesn't approve, but for those that do not have access to "Tinkering School" you can get a similar, year round program through the scouts.
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Emma Leigh 4-08-2008 @ 8:59AM
I was a Cub Scout Leader for several years. My boys always worked hard to earn their "totin' chip." That meant that the boy had learned how to safely handle a pocket knife and was allowed to tote it along with him. Not anymore.
Now the boys have to learn the safety rules and earn their chip, but aren't allowed to tote the knife anymore. An adult is left in charge of the knives and they are only allowed to have them during knife related activities in the "circle of safety." My problem with that is: Why teach them how to use it safely if you aren't going to allow them to use it?
I always believed the lesson wasn't only about the proper handling of a sharp object - it was empowering the child with responsibility and confidence to use a potentially dangerous tool/weapon.
bgbassmom 4-07-2008 @ 1:07PM
I never had a "Tinkering School", I had a Dad. I learned to do those things by hanging out in the garage with my dad. My dad never had any sons, so he thought it was important to teach his daughters to do all those things. My sister could take the wheels off our lawn mower by the time she was seven. I also love the scouting program for boys. My son is involved in scouts, and it is great for allowing boys to learn to do boy things, like build, operate tools, fish, shoot, and how to use a knife, all safely. It's a great opportunity for my son and his dad to work on those things together.
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isisaquaria 4-07-2008 @ 2:04PM
The book mentioned "dangerous book for boys" also has a girl version although we didn't need it-we have dare devils.
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