Tinker School

          I find that Gever Tulleys approach to learning at his "Tinkering School" is very unique. It’s not everyday that children are placed in a school with no set curriculum or test, and not meant to learn anything specific. And, the children are able to do all hands on work to figure out how to build what they want. I believe that there’s a very select few of educators that would find Tulleys method of teaching as useful because most people like to think that reading out of a book and notes is the key to success. I think the idea of more hands on learning would help students learn better.

            After watching this video I couldn't help but ask myself, "Would I have enjoyed school more and or done better in some classes if they were more hands on?" When Tulley said "a deep interrealization that you can figure things out by fooling around," I strongly agreed. There’s nothing worse than going to class when you had no idea what was going on last time whether it was just a concept of some sort or the whole lesson. It takes different methods, amounts of time, and "fooling around," for some people to fully understand. Maybe instead of some courses just full on being read the text and take the test, they can be more hands on or "tinker" like and students would learn better and enjoy class more.

            As a student who just graduated from high school, I've had classes that were hands on and some that were basically read out of a book. I find that both can be good but it also depends on the class. An example would be my Anatomy and Physiology class in high school. It really helped to have visuals and hands on experience to learn the parts of the body, tissues, bones, and all sorts of information but, when it came to stuff like Algebra, the step by step directions in the book were the best explanations for me. The best way for me to learn again, depends on the class. For subjects such as math, history, and English, I need a textbook to fully understand the lesson. For subjects like Anat&Pys. and science I need visuals and hands on learning. And, not to sound sexist but I also realized while in high school that girls learn better from a textbook than boys who learn better with visuals and physical examples.

            It's hard to say whether attending a school like the Tinkering school would be beneficial or not. Although it's all hands on learning and gives students the independence to figure things out for themselves, there's no set curriculum. So, you have to ask yourself, "What are the kids learning then?" I don't think I could attend a school that approaches learning this way because for the majority of the time I need a teacher to tell me exactly how to do something and, if I am or am not doing it correctly. It seems too out of control for me. I agree that the school helps build skills for the students but, as the kind of student I am, I couldn't attend a school like the Tinkering school.

            For a student that needs to be told exactly how to do something and if I am or am not doing something correctly, I would probably do best in a learning environment that has a set curriculum, schedule, and really everything "set and stone." Although I would enjoy having no tests and the freedom to do things how I thought they were to be done, I know that's just not the way it is. The one time I tried using what the teacher said in lecture and not the information out of the book, I felt so lost and unprepared for the next day quiz. So, I've come to the conclusion that I need a set way of doing things or I can't do them.

            I believe the way our society responds to failure is too harsh. Everyone is different and no one person is perfect, that's just the way it is. People today like to believe that either you go to college for 4 years, graduate, and get a good job or you’re a "failure at life." What really struck me in the video was when Tulley said, "success is in the doing and failures are celebrated and analyzed," if only everyone could think this way. People wouldn't feel so under pressure and life could be more enjoyable.

Here's the link to the video: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/gever