TED- Can kids teach themselves?

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Comment by Ginger Lewman on February 7, 2009 at 5:27am

More description of the video: http://www.ted.com Speaking at LIFT 2007, Sugata Mitra talks about his Hole in the Wall project. Young kids in this project figured out how to use a PC on their own -- and then taught other kids. He asks, what else can children teach themselves?

This is a very thought-provoking presentation. I agree that many students can indeed teach themselves and each other a great deal of academic, how-to, and even social skills and well-being. But in order to do this, one has to have a fertile environment in which it's safe and welcome to do so.

In a culture such as America's, I think that this is best done in an environment where a teacher (be it a professional or home teacher) has created a place where the students can find value in the sharing, collaborating, growth. --I can only speak to American educational culture with intelligence, since that's all I know first-hand.-- To expect that students can teach each other everything they need to know for life, forget about "the test" even, is a fantasy.

There is MUCH to be lauded in teachers getting out of the way of learners and letting them discover, uncover their own learning, and the teacher being there to encourage, guide, and challenge! Thanks for sharing!