Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Dangerous Teaching


One of the blogs that is a "must read" for me is Teacher Tom. Tom has taught me many things...and made me think about lots and lots of things. One thing that Tom has taught me is to rethink safety and risk. I want kids to be safe...and to have a safe environment in which to explore.

But I also want them to take risks, to try ideas (even if they are a little dangerous), and to gain control and competence. Tom regularly makes me think about how to do this with integrity and fun. I will be forever grateful to him for pushing me (through his blog) to put hot glue guns into the hands of my kids.

Next week I'm leading a conference about risky teaching (at the Heart of a Child conference in Oklahoma). In my preparation, I've been reading and re-reading other posts and information about risk, play, and kids. Here are some links--

Is There Danger in Play or More in Its Absence?

Is That Allowed?

Make It Safer. Add Risk.

Turning Parents onto Risky Play

Reaping the Rewards of Risk


How do you add risk to your teaching?