One of the most anxiety-producing, despair-inducing, frustration-creating aspects of self-directed and noncoercive learning is the fear among adults that kids left to their own devices will do nothing but play video games…or watch YouTube…or go through season after season of shows on Netflix, or…fill in the blank. And that too much of these things, unlike other activities kids choose to do a lot of, like reading or playing baseball, are particularly wasteful or without value.
These are definitely complex and important issues to think about and they are even more challenging because one child’s extensive video game playing may be fine, while for another child it might be a symptom of a deeper concern, like depression or anxiety.
The staff has decided to read It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens for our next book club selection to gain deeper insight into this important topic. Hopefully, you’ll read the book and join us on April 13th when we gather to discuss it. Please let us know if you are interested and we’ll make sure you have the location and time details.