On first seeing this:
I asked my son just how he learned to do this - certainly not from me; I don’t even know what this IS!
Simple, says he. It’s something he was interested in, and so he learned about it. He’s using his newfound skills in electrical circuitry to make distortion pedals and sound effects for his musical instruments. It’s wonderful to see his curiosity lead him to a diverse education.
But what about kids who have yet to find an interest that pulls them into self-directed learning? Like my youngest, for instance? He does read quite a lot (that is truly an understatement), but he’d happily play video games all day if I let him. I know that some radical unschoolers count video gaming as valuable, but I have trouble letting it be the focus around here. We try to expose him to different activities, but he’s just not interested.
How have you inspired a child to discover his or her passion, whether a lifelong obsession or a fleeting interest?
Tim said,
May 21, 2008 @ 4:28 pm
I think the thing is to put things in the kid’s hands: musical instruments, different kinds of books, Legos, wooden blocks, yarn, tools, balls, whatever requires an active rather than a passive interest. Take a thing and show the kid how it works. Maybe he’s not interested. Okay. You use it — let him see you use it. Maybe he’ll get interested later on.
When an interest arises, fan it. Repeat forever.