16/10/06

At TED U, Gever Tulley, founder of the Tinkering School, spells out 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do — and why a little danger is good for both kids and grownups.

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Intro

What do you think was the most dangerous/foolish think you did as a child?

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Watch

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Glossary

  • (with) a grain/pinch of salt – to view something with skepticism, or to not take it literally
  • by trade – as a profession; professionally
  • bruise – an injury appearing as an area of discoloured skin on the body, caused by a blow or impact rupturing underlying blood vessels
  • suffocate – die or cause to die from lack of air or inability to breathe
  • empower – make (someone) stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights

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Think about it

Answer the questions below. Pause at times indicated in brackets.

  • Why does Gever say we should take his advice with a pinch of salt? (0:30)
  • What is the idea behind the Tinkering School? (1:00)
  • What does Gever say about safety regulations and how they affect children? (2:13)
  • Why should children be allowed to play with fire? (4:00)
  • What does Gever say about pocket knives? (5:14)
  • What are the benefits of throwing? (6:22)
  • What are the benefits of allowing a child to break the law? (8:07)
  • What does Gever say about letting a child drive a car?

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Practice makes perfect

Fill in the blank spaces with the correct forms of the words in CAPITAL LETTERS.

Number three: Throw a spear. It turns out that our brains are actually wired for throwing things, and like muscles, if you don’t use parts of your brain, they ________ TENDENCY to atrophy over time. But when you exercise them, any given muscle adds ________ STRONG to the whole system, and that applies to your brain, too. So practicing throwing things has been shown to stimulate the ________ FRONT and parietal lobes, which have to do with visual acuity, 3D understanding, and ________ STRUCTURE problem solving, so it helps develop their ________ VISUAL skills and their predictive ability. And throwing is a ________ COMBINE of analytical and physical skill, so it’s very good for that kind of whole-body training. These kinds of target-based practices also help kids develop ________ATTEND and ________ CONCENTRATE skills, so those are great.

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Fill int the blank spaces with the missing words. Use ONE word per blank space.

For those of you ________ aren’t comfortable actually breaking the law, you can drive a car with your child. This is a great stage for a kid. This happens about the same time that they get latched onto things like dinosaurs, these big things in ________ outside world, that they’re trying to get a grip ________ . A car is a similar object, and they can get ________ a car and drive it. And that really gives them a handle on a world ________ a way that they don’t often have access ________ . And it’s perfectly legal. Find a big empty lot, make sure there’s nothing in it, and that it’s on private property, and let them drive your car. It’s very safe actually. And it’s fun ________ the whole family.

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Explore it more

 

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