Tinkering school

Have you ever looked back at what you had when you where growing up compared to now. Children these days have little cars, I pods, and DVD’s. I remember just playing bored games, or with a piece of wood and some nails, or house in the calf shed. It is amazing how much more children have now. Most children these days don’t even know how to use a hammer or a nail. But Gever Tulley is starting to change that with Tinkering school. Exploring your mind and using dangerous things. That is what the motto is at Tinkering school. Gever and his wife work to teach young children what a hammer, nail, and screwdriver are and how to use them.
Some children these days are so sheltered that they don’t even know what a nail is or have never touched a piece of wood. They don’t get out of the house and see what they can do with a plastic bag. In Gever’s video on TED he explains how children use plastic bags to make a bridge that can hold there own weight. Also he explains that everything does not always turn out the why it is to. Even after all the drawings and planning it does not work out, but the kids do not give up, they turn to creativity in paint and markers by making the project into a canvas.
One of the most amazing projects I saw on the TED video was the roller coaster. There are not many seven year olds that can go into their first day of school and say they built a roller coaster this summer. And not just a small roller coaster, but one that can have a person ride on it and works. This is one project that turned out great, seeing the smiles on the kids faces and the feeling that they achieved something.
Watching this video has made me want to go out to a camp and help. I love working with my hands and seeing the smiles on children’s faces. I am amazed about all the time and patients that the leaders put into the projects; it cannot be easy to work with 7 year olds when something does not go their way. It is amazing what Gever has done with his time and life and I hope that he continues to make more Tinkering schools.