The Greenfoot system uses Java with some built in objects so my daughter with simple coding can create interesting games while learning the basics of object-oriented programming. Pretty cool. Earlier she tried out Alice but found it too much hand holding.
On the eco theme, my daughter had me watch The Story of Stuff, a twenty minute animation of how consumerism is literally destroying the world. When I tried to argue a few points about the movie with her, she shot back "That's the truth. If you don't like the truth, well neither do I. That's why we have to change it." That's my little Al Gore.
I would prefer it if schools use their power over children to teach critical thinking, rather than produce little Al-Gores (or little Pat Robertsons or little whoever each particular school deems to be the true scholar/visionary/prophet).
ReplyDeleteYes, it is clear from Lance's anecdote that the school completely removed his daughter's personality and replaced it with a copy of Al Gore's. That makes perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteEldar: how much power did your school have over you? Should it be any different today?
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I was harsh and prejudgmental in my earlier comment, and I apologize for that.
ReplyDeleteAs for my own experience, where I live the schools teach less math and more indoctrination as compared to when I was schooled (critical thinking was not a big agenda item then or now). As far as I know this is true also in the US.
To the people who think schools should go back to technology - it's just a sign of the times.
ReplyDeleteA few decades back, US was in cold war mode, science was politically useful in its harder form and everyone felt great about the big accomplishments (the bomb, the fighter planes, the code breakers, etc.)
Now, we live in a different world. The enemy is more diffuse, sometimes within. So, is it really a bad thing that students are being trained differently to be sensitive to a different set of topics?
I agree with Eldar. The point is the children should learn to think, check what is told to them and not take them as facts, and make their own decisions, sometimes against what the authority tells them, sometime against what is cool. Unfortunately, most people just follow the fads. Fashion changes, but people are just the same, they just follow what is cool today!
ReplyDeleteI love this game. I already beat it 5 times! I was wondering if in Eco-Girl 2 there could also be a dump truck that comes out sometimes and dumps toxic chemicals in the forest
ReplyDeleteWhat does "Stuff" have to say about nuclear energy?
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