I loved Amy Willis’s interview of co-blogger Bryan Caplan. The questions were on target and Bryan’s thoughtful answers showed what a good, caring father he is. The interview went far beyond home schooling and got into how to be a good parent.
I made notes at the time, but didn’t time stamp them. So I don’t remember where in the interview Bryan said this, but it was clear that he understood the importance of play and joy in his children’s lives.
It’s important, not just for kids, but also for adults, to have play.
Years ago, Stuart Brown, who used to be married to my cousin Joan Henderson, was on a commission appointed by Texas governor John Connally in 1966 to look into the actions and motives of Charles Whitman. Whitman was the sharpshooter who murdered 10 people from a perch on the observation deck of the University of Texas tower. In total, he murdered 16 people.
Being on that commission changed Stuart Brown’s life. What he concluded was that Whitman had not had much play in his life and that that was a key factor in how he turned out. Stuart then spent, and is spending, the rest of his professional life advocating play. Here he is in a TED talk on that topic.
READER COMMENTS
Thomas Lee
May 14 2020 at 8:41pm
Great interview!
This is a classic talk from Peter Gray, quite a student of home schooling and “unschooling”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg-GEzM7iTk He describes how teen anxiety has increased in our society as play declined. Highly recommended.
Universal pre-kindergarten, cause Joe Biden, will never appeal to you again if you watch this video.
David Henderson
May 15 2020 at 11:06am
Excellent video. Thanks, Tom.
Phil H
May 15 2020 at 7:37am
Chinese schools at the moment are in a state of utter confusion. On the one hand, they are being pushed by the government and parental demand, to churn out exam machines who can score 100% on any test. On the other hand, there has been a spate of child suicides which are widely blamed on academic pressure. My kids’ school had to delay its mid-term exams this week because of this; but it couldn’t cancel them entirely.
It’s a very troubling state of affairs.
(Personally, I can’t blame child suicide on the schools – the parents have to accept responsibility for that. But Chinese schooling is definitely waay too much work and not enough play at the moment.
Thomas Hutcheson
May 15 2020 at 9:58am
Like James Mill with the young JS.
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