When musician John Roderick’s 9-year-old daughter asked him how to use a can opener, he saw it as a teaching moment. He refused to show her and vowed that they wouldn’t eat until she had puzzled it out. It took her six hours, during which Roderick provided hints, cajoled, philosophized and occasionally teased her.Roderick documented the event on Twitter, and was excoriated. The typical sentiment was disgusted disbelief: Why not just tell her?But this reaction shows overconfidence in the answer to a difficult question, one that’s especially relevant as parents assist with remote schooling: When kids ask for help, what’s the right mix of support and challenge? If you “just tell them,” aren’t you undercutting motivation and the chance to build independence?For over a century, some education theorists have warned that kids who are “just told” might learn superficially. Virtually all researchers agree that understanding involves interpretation; learners don’t simply absorb what a parent says, they create their own meaning. For example, if a child hears “Piera saw the doctor yesterday,” she goes beyond the literal words and understands that Piera probably felt ill. Because understanding is active, some theorists advise that the child should act while learning — that…
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Op-Ed: Twitter condemns dad who let daughter struggle to open a can. What should he have done?
