If you pay much attention to media trends (Especially Oprah Winfry and Bill Gates who is king of the geeks) you’ll notice a growing fervor concerning the state of education in America. They site falling test scores and dropping graduation rates as proof of their claims.
Their solution…
- more time in the class room
- more classes in general
- better textbooks
- better teacher training programs
- raise performance standards
Unfortunately they are wrong.
In my opinion Jean Piaget (the late) was not a great psychologist. However, hid he did have phenomenal powers of observation.
What did he observe?
People increase their knowledge base and comprehension (ie learn) when they touch and manipulate tactile items.
Frank Wilson is the neurologist who wrote the book, “The Hand, How Its Use Shapes the Brain.” He said, “Humans were designed to build their brains by using their hands.”
Sounds a lot like Piaget doesn’t it?
Unfortunately, inactivity is creating mass brain power atrophy in America.
A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that children spend less than 1.5 hours a day doing physical activity.
What is the result of a person who grows up with such a limited physical activity base?
In an interview with a Meridith Corporation magazine reporter an MIT professor spoke about engineering students who didn’t know which way to turn a screw to tighten it (Hello! Righty tighty, lefty loosey).
Take steps to protect your intellectual prowess and boos your brain power with the following activities.
- Do your own small repairs. Get comfortable with your tool kit.
- Buy an erector set. Sorting, assembly and following detailed project directions is excellent mental exercise.
- Build a bird or dog house but just look at pictures and come up with your own design specs. Better start with scrap on this one.
- Take up a musical instrument. You don’t have to be talented. The process is the important part.
Reg Adkins writes on behavior and the human experience at (elementaltruths.blogspot.com).
