Learning Adventure #8 -- Writing a book review for Amazon.com

My Review: The Children's Machine - Seymour Papert

The Children's Machine, December 11, 2007

By
Brandy Foster "Brandy - teacher" (Hermosa Beach, CA) - See all my reviews The Children's Machine addresses the many ways students learn. Papert uncovers the reality that students learn opposite of how our westernized world sees this process. According to Papert, students learn naturally outside the four walls of a classroom in which literacy is seen as only teachable through textbooks. The Children's Machine uncovers the deficiencies by which most schools run that prevents students from learning as they should, in a self-directed manner where there are answers other than yes or no. Shades of grey are more accepted in Papert's constructivist view of education he outlines in the book rather than the "official theory" of learning which only sees black and white. Papert has self-created the LOGO program, MicroWorlds. With this program, Papert further illustrates how students can learn without restrictions. Students are encouraged to experiment and use the computer as a tool to shape their own thinking. Mistakes are encouraged, as these mistakes will be formed into discoveries. Another recommended read: Mindstorms.

The link: http://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Machine-Rethinking-School-Computer/dp/0465010636/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197432473&sr=8-1

More interested in reading the book now???

Mathophobia: The Fear of Learning

As I read through Mindstorms by Semour Papert, I am reminded of something that occurs so often in our lives: creating a taboo for learning:

Papert addresses things we do as adults that alter, and in a sense, cause us to curse learning:

"I can't learn French, I don't have an ear for languages"...
"I could never be a businessman, I don't have a head for figures"...
"I can't get the hang of parallel skiing, I never was coordinated"...

Thinking and saying these types of phrases to ourselves and admitting them to others is simply a way of cursing ourselves from the ability to learn.

As I reflect on myself and my professional development, I see how important it is to avoid this mathophobic way of being and to open my mind up to the learning that could be.