Mark Wieczorek
Apr 2nd, 2007
Apr 2nd, 2007
Lord of the Legos
Utterly fascinating article about the use & abuse of power, disproportionate access to resources based on chance, rules, and individual will. All told through the eyes of 3rd graders playing with Lego.
Children dug through hefty-sized bins of Legos, sought “cool pieces,” and bartered and exchanged until they established a collection of homes, shops, public facilities, and community meeting places. We carefully protected Legotown from errant balls and jump ropes, and watched it grow day by day.
After nearly two months of observing the children’s Legotown construction, we decided to ban the Legos.
Read: Why We Banned Legos - Volume 21 No. 2 - Winter 2006 - Rethinking Schools Online
I didn’t read the whole thing, but what I find fascinating is the teachers emphasis on “fairness”. Didn’t anyone ever teach these teachers that things aren’t fair in the real world? Encouraging “collectivism”. How unamerican!
Let the kids play anyway they want as long as they’re not physically huring each other or being explicitly mean.