« Things Just May Be Better Than You Think: 'New insights on poverty and life around the world' | Main | Christian Professor Forced To Convert To Islam »
August 6, 2007
Whacko Leftcoast Educators See Pressing Political Issues In Legos
Topics: Whacko CultsAs we find ourselves in the midst of yet another seemingly never-ending political season, this time with Hillary leaning further and further to the Left Coast way of thinking (some might say, even Marxist), now is a good time to take another look at this year-old story that offers a perspective on how our friends on the Far Left think.David Thompson writes of a Seattle after-school childcare program, the Hilltop Children's Center, "keen to ensure that children aged 5 through 9 have the correct kind of play and the correct kind of thoughts," that has banned Legos from their facility. Their reasoning will astound you:
In an article titled Why We Banned Legos, published in the Winter 2006/07 issue of Rethinking Schools magazine, two Hilltop staff recounted the pressing political issues raised by brightly coloured building blocks. The article's authors, Ann Pelo and Kendra Pelojoaquin, ominously related the details of an investigation sparked by the children's building of a village made of Lego...And yes, "The horror continues.""...and the questions embedded in their play about resource sharing, authority, ownership, and power."As someone who has, recklessly, bought Lego as a gift for children (and played with the stuff himself, both as a child and more recently), I was shamefully oblivious to the distressing potential of this plastic construction toy. Thankfully, the Hilltop teaching staff has paid much closer attention."The teachers' observations of the inequity and unintended unfairness that this play created led them to launch an in-depth study with the children about the meaning of power and ways to organize communities which are equitable and just. This investigation was anchored in... our commitment to social justice, anti-bias teaching and learning."Pelo and Pelojoaquin tell us, shockingly, just how focussed and possessive small children can be."A group of about eight children conceived and launched Legotown. Other children were eager to join the project, but as the city grew -- and space and raw materials became more precious -- the builders began excluding other children."
And these people call themselves "educators"?
Notice that I've aptly categorized this post under "Whacko Cults." The people of the Left Coast way of thinking really do need to get a life; Surely, they have no business being near children. Similarly, politicians that subscribe to Left Coast thinking have no business being near Washington.
Posted by Richard at August 6, 2007 11:41 AM
Articles Related to Whacko Cults:
- The ACLU Takes It's War On America To The UN - Mar 17, 2006
- To Wear Another Man's Shoes - Rolling Stone Lays Out The Truth About Scientology - Mar 16, 2006
Comments
I actually read the whole article in question and not just the excerpts and I found it quite interesting. The teachers didn't just ban Legos, they used the Legos as a teaching tool to get the kids to explore their thoughts and behaviors. Its easy to just accept that children are going to be selfish and self-centered but these teachers saw and opportunity to get them to explore issues of working together and inclusiveness. I would have loved it if my child had teachers who saw a teachable moment and responded rather than just shrugged it off as kids being kids. Consequently they were able to have Legos in the classroom without the chaos. To quote the article:
"With these three agreements which distilled months of social justice exploration into a few simple tenets of community use of resources we returned the Legos to their place of honor in the classroom."
Posted by: Odell at August 6, 2007 2:40 PM
;
