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Banning Legos (School socialist indoctrination alert!)
NRO ^ | 3/27/2007 | John Miller

Posted on 03/27/2007 6:03:10 AM PDT by Uncledave

Banning Legos And building a world where “all structures will be standard sizes.”

By John J. Miller

Perhaps you’ve heard about the schools that have banned tag. Or dodgeball. Or stories about pigs.

If so, you won’t be surprised to hear that the Hilltop Children’s Center in Seattle has banned Legos.

A pair of teachers at the center, which provides afterschool activities for elementary-school kids, recently described their policy in a Rethinking Schools cover story called “Why We Banned Legos.” (See the magazine’s cover here.)

It has something to do with “social justice learning.”

My vision of social justice for children of elementary-school age is as follows: If you’re tagged, you’re it; if the ball hits you, you’re out; and pig stories are fun, especially when told over microwaveable hot dogs.

But I try to keep an open mind, so I read the article on why Hilltop banned Legos.

As most aficionados know, Legos are made by a Danish company. The company name comes from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means play well. “Lego became a national treasure and one of the strongest brands in the toy industry,” wrote The Economist last year. “Its colorful bricks are sold in over 130 countries: everyone on earth has, on average, 52 of them.”

In their Rethinking Schools article, teachers Ann Pelo and Kendra Pelojoaquin describe how the kids at Hilltop built “a massive series of Lego structures we named Legotown.” I sensed that something was rotten in the state of Legotown when I read this description of it: “a collection of homes, shops, public facilities, and community meeting places.”

My children have spent a large portion of their young lives playing with Legos. They have never, to my knowledge, constructed “community meeting places.” Instead, they make monster trucks, space ships, and war machines. These little creations are usually loaded with ion guns, nuclear missiles, bunker-busting bombs, force-field projectors, and death-ray cannons. Alien empires have risen and fallen in epic conflicts waged in the upstairs bedrooms of my home.

Perhaps kids in Seattle, under the careful watch of their latte-sipping guardians, are different. But I don’t think so.

At Hilltop, however, the teachers strive to make them different. “We recognized that children are political beings, actively shaping their social and political understandings of ownership and economic equity,” write Pelo and Pelojoaquin. “We agreed that we want to take part in shaping the children’s understandings from a perspective of social justice. So we decided to take the Legos out of the classroom.”

The root cause of Hilltop’s Lego problem was that, well, the kids were being kids: There were disputes over “cool pieces,” instances of bigger kids bossing around little ones, and so on.

An ordinary person might recognize this as child’s play. But the social theorists at Hilltop saw something else: “The children were building their assumptions about ownership and the social power it conveys — assumptions that mirrored those of a class-based, capitalist society — a society that we teachers believe to be unjust and oppressive.”

Pelo and Pelojoaquin continue: “As we watched the children build, we became increasingly concerned.”

So they banned the Legos and began their program of re-education. “Our intention was to promote a contrasting set of values: collectivity, collaboration, resource-sharing, and full democratic participation,” they write.

Instead of practicing phonics or memorizing multiplication tables, the children played a special game: “In the game, the children could experience what they’d not been able to acknowledge in Legotown: When people are shut out of participation in the power structure, they are disenfranchised — and angry, discouraged, and hurt. ... The rules of the game — which mirrored the rules of our capitalist meritocracy — were a setup for winning and losing. ... Our analysis of the game, as teachers, guided our planning for the rest of the investigation into the issues of power, privilege, and authority that spanned the rest of the year.”

After “months of social justice exploration,” the teachers finally agreed it was time to return the Legos to the classroom. That’s because the children at last had bought into the concept that “collectivity is a good thing.” And in Hilltop’s new Lego regime, there would be three immutable laws:

All structures are public structures. Everyone can use all the Lego structures. But only the builder or people who have her or his permission are allowed to change a structure.

Lego people can be saved only by a “team” of kids, not by individuals.

All structures will be standard sizes.

You can almost feel the liberating spirit of that last rule. All structures will be standard sizes? At Hilltop Children’s Center, all imaginations will be a standard size as well: small.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: evilteachers; evilwomen; hatefilledteachers; skipbreakfast; thepoorkids
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To: Uncledave
We recognized that children are political beings, actively shaping their social and political understandings of ownership and economic equity,”

This is the logic for "All your legos are belong to us."

WTF, people?

/r

21 posted on 03/27/2007 6:21:18 AM PDT by IllumiNaughtyByNature (I buy gas for my Hummer with the Carbon Offsets I sell on Ebay!)
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To: SengirV
Can't you get basic sets of lego's? I know that's what I had growing up. My set didn't have laser turrets, etc...

With a little imagination, you can always make a ship with laser turrets out of a collection of basic Lego blocks.

22 posted on 03/27/2007 6:22:21 AM PDT by untrained skeptic
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To: Calpernia
I remember that thread........

Here's another one, though I don't think it's the same one we are both thinking of

L'Eggo My Lego (Teaching communism with legos)

23 posted on 03/27/2007 6:23:37 AM PDT by Gabz (I like mine with lettuce and tomato, heinz57 and french-fried potatoes)
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To: Uncledave
My middle school daughter was invited to participate in a GA Tech Engineering day. One of the big programs GA Tech and the local middle/high schools are supporting and encouraging is a Lego League competition. From their brochure:

"students solve real-world engineering challenges, develop important life skills, and learn to make positive contributions to society"

Surprised to read now that Lego's are evil.
24 posted on 03/27/2007 6:24:35 AM PDT by Republican Red (America is our home team, if you don't want to root for the home team then get out of the stadium)
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To: Huntress
The kids in this school could use a visit from my old teacher Mrs. Gilmore. She explained communism and its inherent flaws in the following way: In Mrs. Gilmore's communist classroom, some kids do A work, some do C work, and some do no work. But everyone gets a C. We got it loud and clear.

Boy, you hit the nail on the head.

Except this type of thinking is going on at a college level too. When my kid hears "group project," he cringes.

Last night he drove 45 minutes to his campus (had to leave 2 hours early to avoid rush hour traffic) to get together with 4 other members of his latest "group project." Only one guy showed up, and he was unprepared to contribute his part.

They'll all get the same grade when the project is presented though.

My son's a senior now, and has probably worked on a dozen group projects. Only one prof had them turn in evaluation sheets about how much each student participated.

I told my son the sorry part is, they're sort of preparing you for reality because that's how things are in the workplace. Oftentimes, one person does the project and all the others assigned to it take credit for the work.

25 posted on 03/27/2007 6:26:01 AM PDT by dawn53
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To: Uncledave
Oh sure, just heard my seven year old say to his older brother "Hey while mom is making pancakes - do you wanna make a lego community center with me?" Then my other son said "Sure, it would be the right thing to do, I am so tired of building space ships, battle ships and robots...and fighting with you dear brother about who gets the best pieces, lets work together toward world peace, cooperation etc, what do you think?" And my seven year old said "Ha ha I fooled you, my space ship is gonna blow your junk up so fast, hey mom watch this!"
26 posted on 03/27/2007 6:26:02 AM PDT by Esther Ruth
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To: Uncledave
Ann Pelo bio
27 posted on 03/27/2007 6:26:05 AM PDT by PacesPaines
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To: Uncledave
"We recognized that children are political beings, actively shaping their social and political understandings of ownership and economic equity"

Oh my good lord those poor, poor little kids being brainwashed so young. Those teachers are stealing their childhood. It's demented. It's psychological torture.

28 posted on 03/27/2007 6:26:22 AM PDT by cake_crumb (NO BLOOD FOR SPINACH SUBSIDIES)
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To: SengirV
I have no problems about being concerned about lego guns,

The problem with stepping on your Lego is that it really hurts.

29 posted on 03/27/2007 6:28:03 AM PDT by johniegrad
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To: Uncledave

We are allowing the terminally stupid to take control. There will be consequences. Hope I'm not here to see it.


30 posted on 03/27/2007 6:30:51 AM PDT by Sue Perkick (...what I was born to do, don't have to think it through.....)
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To: dawn53

Group projects were just coming into vogue when I finished college in the 1990s. I hated them for the same reason your son does.


31 posted on 03/27/2007 6:31:17 AM PDT by Huntress (I believe in government by grumpy old guys.)
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To: DaveLoneRanger; 2Jedismom; Aggie Mama; agrace; Antoninus; arbooz; bboop; BlackElk; blu; cgk; ...

ANOTHER REASON TO HOMESCHOOL

This ping list is for the "other" articles of interest to homeschoolers about education and public school. If you want on/off this list, please freepmail me. The main Homeschool Ping List by DaveLoneRanger handles the homeschool-specific articles.

Thanks for the ping, pandoraou812.

32 posted on 03/27/2007 6:32:26 AM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: Uncledave
Socialism is the God that Never Fails.

The fact of 100 million dead in the 20th Century constitutes no proof whatsoever for True Believers in the Church of Collectivism that their ideology is profoundly at odds with human nature and leads inevitably to tyranny and death.

These "teachers" should not be allowed anywhere near a child for the same reason as sexual predators: they poison minds, destroy spirits, and molest the good.

If you all sense I'm angry - you have no idea how much I hate these people. It is one thing to spout drivel to adults who can make their own independent judgments; it is quite another to seek to indoctrinate the young by denying ability, punishing independence, turning smiles into scowls and open minds into closed alleys. Hell is too good a punishment for those who treat children like this.

33 posted on 03/27/2007 6:33:09 AM PDT by andy58-in-nh
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To: Uncledave

These liberals are just like muslims. They won't allow or tolerate anything they don't approve of.


34 posted on 03/27/2007 6:33:16 AM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: cake_crumb
Oh my good lord those poor, poor little kids being brainwashed so young. Those teachers are stealing their childhood. It's demented. It's psychological torture.

What's even more demented is the amount of tuition parents are paying for this. Something like $1,000 a month.

35 posted on 03/27/2007 6:33:31 AM PDT by Gabz (I like mine with lettuce and tomato, heinz57 and french-fried potatoes)
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To: Uncledave
Sounds to me like these teachers were the ones that the parents had to tie a bone around their necks to get the dog to play with them.

This is crazy. How are kids supposed to learn to get along in the real world? I learned as much about life and dealing with people on the play ground and playing sports as I did in the classroom (Not to mention the fact that I had two parents who didn't hesitate to keep me in line). Kids need to be allowed to fail and figure out what went wrong. Parents that allow "everyone to win" are doing nothing but avoiding the issue of loosing and having to deal with their kids when it happens. By avoiding this issue, they are showing what a bunch of selfish idiots they are! Besides, as these kids get older, the "non inducted kids" from other schools will take their lunch money!
36 posted on 03/27/2007 6:34:12 AM PDT by EngineDad (When it comes to liberals remember - You can't fix stupid)
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To: pandoraou812; Gabz

Thank you Gabz! Pandora, Gabz had the previous thread!


37 posted on 03/27/2007 6:34:18 AM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: Uncledave
Instead, they make monster trucks, space ships, and war machines. These little creations are usually loaded with ion guns, nuclear missiles, bunker-busting bombs, force-field projectors, and death-ray cannons.


Lego Chaingun
38 posted on 03/27/2007 6:34:18 AM PDT by grjr21
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To: beaversmom
Appears the teachers did not like the capitalist-type environments the students were building with the Legos. The instructors wanted a collective environment (ie. socialist).
39 posted on 03/27/2007 6:34:39 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
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To: Uncledave

Marxism works only in the minds of sociopaths and morons. So does Leftist thinking. This is no accident.


40 posted on 03/27/2007 6:34:46 AM PDT by Savage Beast (The Left is America's Ephialtes.)
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