These people are just like Delores Umbrage.
the children were building their assumptions about ownership and the social power it conveys — assumptions that mirrored those of a class-based, capitalist society — a society that we teachers believe to be unjust and oppressive.
I am glad The Boy is in the parochial system.
Seattle, what do you expect ...
Why I banned jackasses from teaching my children.
These are KIDS using Legos, for Pete's sake! Socialists don't know how to have fun, and won't let anyone else have fun, either.
Where is the barf alert? If they had just supervised the kids playing and made them share in the first place this little power struggle would have never happened. All this article proves is that the adults waited until a situation was out of hand before they stepped in and taught the kids how to share their toys.
I thought she resigned fron CNN this week?
“...a critical evaluation of Legotown and the inequities of private ownership and hierarchical authority on which it was founded.
these are bolsheviks.
Boy I bet when these teachers were in school, if someone demanded to hold their lunch money, they willingly gave it to them. No fuss, no matter.
Wow. It’s like reading The Comunist Manifesto...
* Collectivity is a good thing:
* Personal expression matters:
* Shared power is a valued goal:
* Moderation and equal access to resources are things to strive for...
* All structures are public structures. Everyone can use all the Lego structures. But only the builder or people who have her or his permission are allowed to change a structure.
* Lego people can be saved only by a “team” of kids, not by individuals.
* All structures will be standard sizes.
Oh good heavens, I thought this was a story about a fellow Freeper named Legos who had been banned. Time for my meds.
Dear Ms. Pelo:I can't wait to read the response.I read with interest the piece written by you at http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/21_02/lego212.shtml. In retrospect, I can only thank a benevolent God that my child will not receive instruction at the Hilltop Children' Center [sic].
Homework: Please read and contemplate Rudyard Kipling's poem "The Gods Of The Copybook Headings" [http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_copybook.htm]. Compare and contrast Kipling's point of view to the "values of equality and democracy" that you and your colleague hope to instill in your students. In view of historical events, which value system is more reflective of actual reality as experienced by human beings?
Sincerely,
[B-Chan]
This article needs an “It takes a (Lego) village” barf alert!
Never heard an 8 year old child speak so eloquently. I do believe the story of the children is fictitious.
OMG what a read!
And the conclusion:
“Children absorb political, social, and economic worldviews from an early age. Those worldviews show up in their play, which is the terrain that young children use to make meaning about their world and to test and solidify their understandings. We believe that educators have a responsibility to pay close attention to the themes, theories, and values that children use to anchor their play. Then we can interact with those worldviews, using play to instill the values of equality and democracy.”
Using play to instill OUR values on other people’s children.
For the past two years my 8yo daughter has been playing a game she and her friends made up called “Powers”. It involves about 800 rules, kids in shifting teams and ever-shifting power from person to person, depending on these mysterious rules. The kids love it because someone always is in power and others try to get the power. Guess this wouldn’t go over too well at the commune school.
My oldest daughter is in the IB program for gifted children. In the middle of her junior year, the whole family attended her "pinning ceremony" where she was officially inducted into the IB (International Baccalaureate)program.
The Keynote speaker was the valedictorian of the first school year... 1999. She was a young woman that still looked like one of the students even though she was now married with a child. The Principal started his introduction with a Lego story.
He said, "The first time I met Jessica, she was playing with children's building blocks. Legos to be exact. She was in the 7th grade at (a private school) and I watched her play with those Legos for the next five years. She built a robot that could read with those Legos. She now has her degrees in robotics and language and is the head of the Lockheed Long Bow Apache attack helicopter long range fire control system."
I immediately thought of the videos of terrorist being splattered by the Apaches that I have seen all over the internet. When I got to shake her hand in the greeting line, I said, "I've seen your work on the internet... nice job!" and her reply was, "Awesome, huh?".
So, Legos are bad for commies and bad for terrorist, but they have a special place in my heart now!