Jason Tomes

Well, I’ve written the title, but I’m not sure it says what I meant it to say.

You see:

• I don’t mean I want children who are less intelligent than their predecessors…
• It’s not a call for a smaller number of intelligent children…

But I’m all out of correction type on this here typewriter so please allow me to explain what I mean.

When I say “smart kids”, I mean smart as in a bomb… sort of.

The smart kids to whom I refer are not those that are controlled remotely (though something could be said here about overly protective helicopter parents, or those living vicariously through their children) but  kids in the position of the women and men controlling the bombs without interacting with the environment of the bomb.

Home video game systems, interactive games, and other technology can give the children the chance to see and learn about things they never otherwise could have. There are a plenty of positives to this,and thanks to the internet children can see and learn about things they would never otherwise have a chance to experience… visually.

We just have to be careful that children still get their hands dirty, build sandcastles, play with dogs, skip rocks, pick up frogs and snakes, and bake cookies. (Just not in that order… or at least toss a little hand washing in there somewhere.)

Parents and teachers and the children themselves should be sure to experience as much of the world around them as possible. With all the talk about multiple intelligences and different types of learners and learning styles, there’s still not much that can trump a good dose of DOING.

I want my children to break a window playing baseball in the sandlot. I want them to dig for worms, fish with them, and maybe fall in the river every once in a while.

I want them to be able to take a bus, go to the store for milk, yell “CAR!” every few minutes and get out of the way when playing pick-up football in the street, and get in a scuffle or two with friends before working it out.

If our kids are too “smart”, too remote, getting too many of their experiences from the virtual world, they may miss out on getting a lot of the things people need to be strong, to have fun, to deal with crises, and to enjoy jumping, falling, tripping, running, and dancing their way through life.

I know also that what I’m saying is obvious, but we also have to be vigilant because that real world experience takes effort. It means getting off the couch, closing the clamshell, and getting dirty. We parents have to be a bit vigilant and hopefully get to have some fun to boot.