Kids learn best when left alone

I checked Facebook the other day for any new pictures of the grandkids. I was not disappointed. The first picture I found showed about a dozen children. It looked like they were having a meeting to see what they should do next.  

The gathering was held on the undeveloped empty lot across the street and down a bit. If anybody ever buys it and erects a house the children, especially grandson, Jacob, will be heartbroken.

The creek that runs through the property appeared to be dry. They had lined the banks with logs. It looked like they had a few smaller logs on top. Maybe they were building a bridge.

Another picture featured a table where kids were weaving mats, or maybe baskets. I have no idea what they were doing. I’m fairly certain that they didn’t know what they were doing either.

It seemed to me that they were learning teamwork, planning, math, applied physics, engineering and any number of other things.

My daughter had a different point of view. She said it reminded her of Lord of the Flies. The 1954 book was written by William Golding. The main plot focuses on a group of boys stranded on an island that was nowhere near Gilligan’s Island. By the end of the book two boys were dead and the rest were traumatized. I absolutely hated the book.

Today I talked to granddaughter Emma. She informed me that they were building a treehouse. I always thought that meant they were building a house in the trees. I guess the rules are different in Texas. The mats they were weaving were to be a floor covering. They gave up on that before they got much more than a mat that was about a foot square.

They tested the strength of their building today. They used the very scientific method of jumping on it. The building failed the test. Twice. Emma’s cousin, Tristan,- was the test administrator. His foot went through the floor in both tests.  

I would have been surprised if the treehouse had been sturdier. They didn’t use any type of fastener and I’m fairly sure they have never heard of a timber frame home.

Seeing all those kids banding together gives me hope for the future. To my knowledge, nobody went home crying. The lone Black kid was just part of the gang. No adults were around to tell them they were doing it wrong. It was simply a group of young people applying what they had learned in school without realizing that was what they were doing.

I worry about the family members in Texas. I worry because the pandemic seems to be rebounding. Many people I see choose not to wear a mask. Personally, I hate masks. Daughter Beth wears two different masks at a time. Emma says her mom looks like she has been beaten by the time she gets home. When I hear that, I think my concerns are petty.

None of the kids in the pictures wore masks. They were all outside soaking up the Texas sun. I doubt if any of them were concerned about a pandemic that had yet to affect their immediate families. I sincerely hope it stays that way.

Sometimes I think that everybody needs a bit of land to play with. Those kids have gotten more from that empty lot than they have from all the toys in their toybox. Exploring and building tend to teach more than a dry textbook. When children are left alone is when they learn the most.