Mark Elder's Link Digest # 02
Wonder, Daydreaming, and A Podcast Worth Checking Out
Welcome to the second edition of my Wednesday Random Links Round-Up.
1. Knowledge Matters
Natalie Wexler, Dylan Williams, and Doug Lemov are launching Knowledge Matters, a podcast on the science of learning. I’m a huge fan of Lemov’s book Practice Perfect, so I’m looking forward to this new series, which will have six episode seasons.
If you have an interest in educational psychology or teaching, I highly recommend giving Practice Perfect a read and Knowledge Matters a listen.
2. It’s a wonder-ful life
Deborah Farmer Kris has an excellent piece on the connection between awe and learning. The importance of wonder is something that’s often overlooked in our desacralized world, which is a shame since awe is such a fundamental part of being human.
I think that the loneliness epidemic our society is suffering from would never have taken root if we were more serious about pursuing awe-inspiring moments. Alienation is a product of feeling cut off from the world and our place in it, while wonder helps ground and connect us. Not only does wonder help us learn, it also helps us feel alive.
3. On The Death of Daydreaming
Christine Rosen has a piece on how phones have a knack for killing interstitial time, those restorative in-between moments where daydreaming happens.
I’m a big supporter of mind wandering, goofing off, and staring out of windows, so I think it’s important to have a grasp on how technologies like cellphones nuke all the quiet, boring moments that have been part and parcel of the human condition since time immemorial.
We need more daydreaming and less doomscrolling.
4. Play Time Is Essential To Learning
Altamonte Enterprise has a piece up on the importance of play which is a message I will always help spread. Interstitial time, wonder, and play are all fundamental parts of learning, and they do not get the respect that they deserve.
One reason learning is so much harder for adults than children is that adults take themselves far too seriously and are much less likely to incorporate play in their studying.
Turns out that the United Nations has marked June 11th as The Day of Play, an initiative I will be supporting going forward. Ah, if only I had read this piece back when it first came out.
Have you taken the time to play this week?
5. The Yeti Blood Oath
A Denver Seminary is in an uproar after a yeti blood oath was held during a ski trip. Have you taken your yeti blood oath yet?