Early Futures
Child Psychology + Philosophy
Focus: Within and behind the core of studies with children lies psychology. Our present is defined by the images and the narratives we tell ourselves: psychology is one way to help identify these narrative trends and cultural resonances. Work that touches on the heart of psychological investigation with children, and adults alike, is something we investigate, as it is integral to how we understand, and reinvent, childhood. What are the deeper mythologies of childhood? What are the psychological (and mythological) issues both in children and in our perceptions of childhood?
Future Sketches from a preschooler
Drawings of some things in the future according to Gregory, age four:
Reaching into Space >>
Some principles of things >>
(Will we be) Riding on Air? >>
Books on Children’s Narratives
Not sure how much one can learn from children? Consider reading a few of these works documenting children’s stories of their experience. The books are a diverse mixture filled with inspiring, surprising accounts of a range of children’s experiences, inner, outer and otherwise.
The Spiritual Life of Children
Robert Coles
Robert Coles is a solid, long-standing figure [...]
Mandala Practices with Children
“The mandala (Sanskrit “circle”) is a basic form which can be found in nature, in the elements of matter, in the plant and animal worlds, as well as in objects and images created by man and his psyche. It portrays a system of order which superimposes itself, so to speak, on the psychic chaos in [...]
Berkeley Adventure Playground
Time to return to the always inspirational adventure playground. We already described the essence of what adventure playgrounds are in other articles, we now turn to the reality and details of a specific adventure playground: the Berkeley adventure playground. How does it work? What does it look like? How does one maintain an adventure playground?
The [...]
Overimitation in Learning
Alison Gopnik’s research lab at UC Berkeley recently posted a new article describing their research on how young children respond to direct instruction vs. naive demonstration.
You can read the .pdf of the article “Children’s Imitation of Causal Action Sequences” by Buchsbaum, Gopnik, Griffiths & Shafto or the summarized article in Slate: “Why Preschools Shouldn’t [...]
Tarot Stories
One of the more fascinating tasks of being with children is learning how to obtain (let alone understand) the narratives and inner stories from young children who can find it difficult to express their complex feelings in simple language. Symbols and myths have long been a part of teaching and encouraging expression with young children, from retelling ancient fairy tales to labeling all things in a childhood classroom with words and pictures. Children learn (and are educated) through symbols.
You Think Just Because You’re Big You’re Right
By Albert Cullum.
You may know of Albert Cullum from his more popular book, “The Geranium On The Windowsill Just Died But Teacher You Went Right On” a book of poems ironically reflecting on teaching and education from a child’s perspective.
His later book, “You Think Just Because You’re Big You’re Right,” is a darker, more [...]
Spirit Presentation
Below is Warner Brockman’s lecture (age 10), presented at the Children’s Think Tank Show. He created and edited the content and the presentation with minimal digital assistance from our Think Tank research assistant team (be sure to let presentation load).
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Warner’s Life, Death and Reincarnation Presentation on [...]
Critical Spirituality in Pedagogy
For the beginning of 2011, I will be rereading the following articles, which all peripherally help define how to consider the spiritual in relation to critical agency and education.
Critical Spirituality as a Resource for Fostering Critical Pedagogy – Ivana Milojevic
Comparative discussion of multiple spiritual perspectives and the relationship with critical pedagogy.
Understanding and Teaching Future Consciousness [...]
A Book of Dreams
A Book of Dreams by Peter Reich is an fascinating read for those concerned with education, futures or children.
Peter Reich is the son of renowned, brilliant psychiatrist and researcher, Wilhelm Reich. A Book of Dreams is his narrative on his life growing up in the midst of Wilhelm Reich’s research. As a child he was [...]
Think Tank Notebook
Each child in the Children’s Think Tank upkeeps a research notebook, filled with mostly drawings.
In this video clip, Lia walks me through what she was thinking during part of her research on mythology, revealing a surprising game her and her 7-year-old friends play.
Life, Death and Reincarnation Essay
Warner’s Life, Death and Reincarnation Essay
Ok so first is the birth of the body (the spirit is already born)
Then you are a baby
Next, you are a kid and your right mind comes to you
Then you are a pre-teen and you become social
Then you are a teen and become super social
Next, you are a grown-up and [...]
“I Want To Learn Everything”
Here’s an excerpt from an interview with Abigail, at the Children’s Think Tank.
(video)
Depressed Preschoolers?
A recent article in the New York Times Magazine regarding the possibilities that moody children are actually depressed: Can Preschoolers Be Depressed?
Teaching the Future
The Journal of Future Studies, an international journal of foresight and futures studies, is putting out a three part symposium of articles on “Teaching the Future.” Early Futures will have an article in the third part on early childhood, to be published in December. Anyone interested in what futures teaching is about should read these [...]
Neuroscience, Meditation and Education
The Neuro Education Initiative Summit at Johns Hopkins University brings together Neuroscientists and Educators to present contemporary research in brain science and how it affects educational functions.
The article reviewing the entire summit is here: Dana Foundation Report.
There were a number of topics, but the one I was most interested in was the affects of Integrated [...]
Children Tell The Future
Futures 2010
(brought to you by the 4-and 5-year-old’s at Bolton Hill Nursery School)
Each year we do a futures unit near the end of their last year of preschool. This year we thought and compared three different futures:
1. What do you wish the future would really be like? (Utopian futures)
2. What do you not want the [...]
Committee for Stress-Free Schools
We all could promote holistic health and integrated education in our classrooms more frequently. To help do so, I turn to the wonderful research and advocacy group, Committee for Stress-Free Schools. The Committee promotes Transcendental Meditation, among many other techniques for centering in schools and backs this promotion up with hundreds of articles, resources, videos [...]
Non-Human Relations
One thing you almost always see with a child is their non-human companion: a worn out blanket, a stuffed animal, a funny piece of cloth, a baby doll etc. Stuffies and the like are usually seen merely as a “comforting item,” usually used to comfort or to be held over a child’s head if they [...]
Unanswerable Questions
So, what are the questions that 4-and 5-year-olds come up with when asked, “What is your hardest question or what is something you want to know the answer to?”
Here they are. If you can answer any of them, let me know:
HARD QUESTIONS
Why did the baby cross the road? (Errol)
What is inside the USS Nicholas Submarine? [...]
Universe, Birth, Hate, Death: Interview Samples
Here are some samples of some of my recorded interviews with 4 and 5 year olds regarding their ideas on the universe and universal ideas. All are excerpts from longer interviews. These interviews were done in one afternoon and seem more related to the universe and to death, a theme they’ve been interested in lately. [...]
Speakers on Children, Cosmos and Futures
The following TED talks are a few of the incredibly relevant and interesting talks related to young children and our futures.
How We Read the Minds of Others
“This brain region is almost completely specialized. It does almost nothing else, except for thinking about other people’s thoughts.” – Rebecca Saze
School Kills Creativity
“We’re being educated out of [...]
Imagination Games
It is integral that we purposefully give our child peers tools to keep their imaginations connecting and deconstructing reality and fantasy. When a child can visualize, imagine and challenge the normal understanding of how things work together, they have more control over imagining our future worlds. They also become more comfortable with the diversity of [...]
Futures in Children’s Past Lives
Recently I came across the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia. In this division they study (among other rarely researched experiences) children who’ve experienced a form of past life. After reading the brief summary book, Children Who Remember Previous Lives: A Question of Reincarnation, I found this subject to be incredibly relevant [...]