I learned how to fix things.
"Things" like gears, cables, and booms were no longer magic, but things made by men (and a very few women back then). Not much you couldn't do with a torch, an arc welder, and a machine shop.
While taking apart some hydraulic apparatus I knew little about, John the Polack offered this timeless advice:
If it don't fit, don't force it.
Turn it over and try again.
John was old. He fed the feral cats, gave me coffee loaded with whiskey (but only during overtime), and he's probably dead now.
But he was wise, he was kind, and he spent his life loading ships headed for places he would never see. nor will you.
What does any of this have to do with NGSS?
Pretty much everything if you do it right, if I am getting the thrust behind the new standards.
When you use a wrench in tight spaces, flipping it with each turn gives you a hair more turn. If you use a wrench, you know this. It's not innate, but it feels like it after a few decades using wrenches.
We are clever mammals, both blessed and condemned by our cleverness. We cannot be our mammal selves playing on screens. We need more screws in our lives.'
Teach kids how to fix things. It will make them a lot happier than learning most of anything else we pretend to teach them in high school.
I'm not kidding.
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2 comments:
As one who doesn't know how to fix things, I've not taught kids to do so. I have, however, had a bin full of broken electronics and some tools (screwdrivers, pliers, etc.) for kids to explore. I sincerely hope that messing around in this way will help them feel more comfortable taking things apart and tinkering with them. If not, I am sure they're having fun!
That is how it's done!
If it's made by human hands, human hands can fix it (or at least figure out what's wrong....)
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