A Celebration of the "Dangers" of Childhood

Here's a book for the consideration of all parents. Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do) caught my attention simply because of the title. What's that they say about judging a book by it's cover? Not only do most of the fifty things, e.g., make a slingshot, play with dry ice, burn things with a magnifying glass,  lick a 9-volt battery, remind me fondly of my childhood, but they make me sad that most of today's children will never experience this sort of living on the edge, mine included. The author, Gever Tulley, is both nostalgic and purpose driven. He recently spoke at Canisius College, where he read from his book and spoke about the importance of hands-on, self-directed learning as being critical to the development of the kind of creativity and love of learning that is largely absent from today's test driven schooling. In their article on his talk, The Buffalo News quotes Mr. Tulley, "When we're teaching children, we shouldn't worry so much about the facts that they're learning, the techniques that they're learning, but how well they're learning to love learning. If we produce children who are voracious, self-directed learners, they can learn and adapt to anything." Here's to teaching your nine-year-old to drive over the weekend.