Courtesy of CNET:
As an astrophysicist and host of last year's "Cosmos" reboot, Neil deGrasse Tyson has taken on explanations of physics, evolution and the creation of the universe itself. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that when a 6-year-old boy asked him, "What's the meaning of life?" at a small speaking engagement in Boston on Thursday, Tyson didn't balk at the question like most of us would.
Instead, he launched into a mini-lesson starting with the value of creating meaning through lifelong learning and concluding with granting his permission to splash around in muddy puddles and bang spoons on the family collection of pots and pans. The whole exchange is ridiculously adorable, and Tyson's approach to the precocious kid -- rolling around the stage like a restless first-grader himself -- will almost charm you to tears.
You know I have worked with children almost my entire adult life.
Once many years ago somebody asked me how I had the patience to work with small children without getting frustrated or bored.
"Are you kidding?" I replied. "Every day I get to see the world through new eyes. I get to watch a child's face as they experience for the first time, something that I have seen, tasted, or heard a thousand times before. There is nothing boring about that."
Parents should take a lesson from what Professor Tyson is saying here.
If you want to raise problem solvers, then let them start solving problems early.
If you want to raise emotionally secure adults, then don't coddle and protect your children from their emotions, even the bad ones.
And if you want to raise successful adults, then let them fail, and learn from those failures, as children.
During all of that I can almost guarantee they will discover the meaning of life, well at least their life.
If you want to raise problem solvers, then let them start solving problems early.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely- unfortunately, getting ready for the competency test doesn't address problem solving at all. Is this why folks fear Common Core and NGSS? They're all about critical thinking.
Banging the posts and pans was a daily routine for my kids. It was great for several reasons, it occupied them while I did dishes or cleaning or whatever. I also always knew where they were if I had to run out of the room, by the noise (music) they were making. Although we had TV, but not video games, they rarely watched. What could have been more fun than banging the pots? Or finger painting on the tile floor?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line by Neil deGrasse Tyson? Why did your parents have you? A question every parent should ask themselves.
Mildred
Oh Mildred, I whole-heartedly agree and I do the same with my eight grandchildren. Papa and Nonnie's house is FUN ZONE and always will be.
Delete7:35, My old copper pots still hang in the kitchen, and I cherish the memories every time I see the dents in their bottoms. I love that you call your home a FUN ZONE! Fun for them, learning for the future!
DeleteMildred
Our son, now almost 40, had a great time banging on pots with a wooden spoon, also making make-believe soup or stew by stirring pots with various combinations of big plastic pop-it beads, or standing behind the cabinet door and playing grocer. And I, almost 71, still like to watch rain drops slide slowly or fast down the car windows or individual snow flakes as they land on the front of my winter jacket. I'm not a scientist and my interest in natural things is more for their beauty. For me, the most important part of life is being curious about the world around me and to savoring moments spent in imagining.
DeleteA friend this past weekend told me that her grandson was given a camel figurine to hold as part of a Christmas pageant and he named his camel Eli. We both thought it so sweet that he named the camel even though he was going to be parting with it in a few minutes when he placed it by the manger. I love children's imaginations and I believe they should be nurtured.
Beaglemom
Amen, Beaglemom, Amen. 7:35 here...my granddaughter, now eight, became pregnant with "Baby Dallas" four years ago when our daughter was pregnant with a son. They spent the night at our house when our daughter was in labor, and when we went to see them the next morning, our daughter had a doll. "Look, not only do you have a new brother, but Baby Dallas was born, too!" She still has that doll and cherishes it. Imagination....and about the sweetest thing I ever witnessed.
DeleteOMG, Betty Bowers takes it to Ms. McCain!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/312383761871/photos/pb.312383761871.-2207520000.1421597996./10152662383291872/?type=1&theater
BREAKING!
ReplyDeleteHell Freezes Over As Fox News Actually Apologizes For Telling Blatant Lies On The Air (VIDEO)
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/01/18/hell-freezes-over-as-fox-news-actually-apologizes-for-telling-blatant-lies-on-the-air-video/
Fox Formally Apologizes for Claiming Muslims Have Taken Over European Cities
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-formally-apologizes-for-claiming-muslims-have-taken-over-european-cities/
As usual, look no further than the religious to find hatred and brewing resentment against another religion. Fox is islamophobic all right.
DeleteThe French are used to media that are held accountable when they blatantly lie.
Maybe Fox didn't want to have an international publicity on its lying ? That would have made domestic news in other outlets, I guess. Or maybe they have money invested in Europe they can't afford to lose ?
I've worked with all ages of children and I love them all. I've taught math to middle schoolers, been a preschool dance teacher, taught 3rd grade , and coached volleyball in high school as well as enrichment classes.
ReplyDeleteIt's impossible to pick a favorite age.
I often wish I still taught but when I was 35 other things called.
That was amazing Gryphen, thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteAnd I hope the adult goes out as soon as possible and catches snowflakes in his mouth.
Growing up in California, my first husband experienced snow when he was 21 years old. When I asked him what snow felt like, he closed his eyes, turned his face up to the flakes to catch them properly, laughed, and said "It tickles!"
DeleteI've been in Canada now for 50 years and can go winter to winter without making a snowball...how sad is that? The snow is usually not right for making them (too cold) but a few years ago, in the spring, I dared get a middle-aged man at a bus stop to try and hit a faraway sign with one. He did. He was beaming! (I missed.)
I love that Barbara, thanks. Big smile here reading your post! :-)
DeleteThe brilliance of this man is not just that he's always smarter than anyone else in the room, but that he has an amazing talent for connecting with people who aren't nearly as smart as he is.
ReplyDeleteUnlike many academics of his level, he is able to use humor to inspire us to reach for the stars and search for the answers to all the questions in the universe.
We had a dear friend who was a math professor but he also had a knack for talking with those of us who were clearly not in his intellectual sphere and being able to be interested in people around him, no matter what their backgrounds. Unfortunately he died - way too young.
DeleteBeaglemom
As an educator working in an elementary setting, this is exactly why the movement for 'accountability' scares me so much.
ReplyDeleteI've seen so much of the time that our students, especially those in the primary grades, USED to have for exploring and creating now being used for test prep. Gotta get those test scores up even if it means getting rid of art, music, dance, drama and science. The Common Core, while having some positive aspects, and the NCLB, which was an abomination, seek to mold all of our children into cookie-cutter factory products that have no imagination and no enthusiasm for learning.
All of the research that has, for decades, shown that children learn - and should be taught - in many different ways, has been tossed out in favor of one-size-fits-all curricula and standardized testing that is easy for the publishers to sell and profit from.
The current generation is being taught that every problem has one, and ONLY one, solution, and that thinking out of the box will get you punished with a poor grade. The innovation that helped turn our country into one of the most creative, forward-thinking and economically successful nations on earth, will be stifled for decades.
We need to go back to letting our children BE children, and thinking in the most creative, absurd, whimsical, silly, and inspiring ways they can.
I could not have said this better.
DeleteI adore Neil and his soft spoken wisdom, especially interacting with kids. My father dropped out of school in the fifth grade because he had to help support the family, because of this thing called WW2. He was raised in italy, and came to this country an illiterate, but he taught himself to read. He'd pick something up to throw it in the trash, but not without reading it first. Our first Encyclopedia was the Columbia encylcopedia, which came in binder form weekly from a supermarket with a purchase of five dollars or more. When we had questions, he took us to the encylopedia, If the answer wasn't there, the library was next. But we learned what we needed to find answers because of him. He had the same voice as Professor Tyson, he'd pick up a milky way candy wrapper, and hold court about space, galaxies, the earth, planets, and comets etc. We went to museums (there was no charge then) all the time. And he took the time to listen and answer the right question.
ReplyDeleteSome people are just born with that ability, all his kids took time for "teachable moments". Now we put i phones and tablets in prison, shut off the television and have conversations about what we learned today, what we had to look up and why, world events and our opinions, politics, everything is spoken about with no limits.
It's a great way to learn and it teaches patience, manners and respect.
I've always said Art Linkletter had my dream job. Kids are so open to learning while having older souls than their age.