[Olpc-open] Whose choice? ;-)

[Bert Freudenberg]

On Dec 5, 2007, at 18:12 , Ed Montgomery wrote:

> To each his own.  Let each kid (or any user) decide
> which they prefer, is my REAL preference! :-)

This might be valid in this specific instance, but it is a very  
dangerous position to take if generalized. Yes choice is good, but  
the range of offers must be very carefully selected. It's one of the  
great insights of Maria Montessori that kids will play anyway, but  
providing them with "good" toys enhances learning immensely. So it is  
our responsibility to provide good choices.

There was a rather interesting discussion about that lately (although  
in the context of higher education), unfortunately its threads are  
not continuous:

http://www.nabble.com/--tf4824930.html
http://www.nabble.com/--tf4846337.html
http://www.nabble.com/--tf4853523.html

- Bert -