“Play—it’s by definition absorbing. The outcome is always uncertain. Play makes children nimble—neurobiologically, mentally, behaviorally—capable of adapting to a rapidly evolving world. That makes it just about the best preparation for life in the 21st century. Psychologists believe that play cajoles people toward their human potential because it preserves all the possibilities nervous systems tend to otherwise prune away. It’s no accident that all of the predicaments of play—the challenges, the dares, the races and chases—model the struggle for survival. Think of play as the future with sneakers on.”

—Hara Estroff Marano, Psychology Today, May/June 2006

Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are relevant. The second derivative of some logrithmic equation is tenuous. The kids can’t add or subtract, so forget that other stuff. Typing numbers into Excel is thoughtless.

The lesson might get complicated by referencing inherited wealth, but that is altogether other lesson about the importance of social and business networks, and the myths we lie to ourselves about. Or, drug dealers. Or the effects of supply and demand as in being in a career that cratered, so what do you do about it, what is the enabler? Again, the anything, but irrelevant education you have or don’t have.

Technology doesn’t make education irrelevant, nor relevant. Kids should stay away from computers, because that isn’t where the money is, or where it will be. That employers want more of these kids is just wonderful, but they want them cheap and have no qualms about throwing them away. The lesson of the dot bust and the post-bust is that old money trumps new money. We scared them, so we pay. Computers are nothing but a distraction.

Calculators should be banned as well. Hand a kid a book and make the read it. The education industry has failed ever since, education content became more important than domain content. Technology is yet another education content domain, so there is no way that it will improve education, or education disconnected from our kid’s lives, or our kid’s outcomes. Sure teachers want to play, but that doesn’t mean they should.

I’ve tried posting a lengthier response in this little “leave a reply” text box, but I can’t say anything succinctly meaningful beyond my sincere, “Thanks.” I’m working on another post to the main blog-space where I’ll share some of the ideas you triggered for me.