In Defense of Childhood Protecting Kids' Inner Wildness

"As codirector of the Albany Free School, Chris Mercogliano has helped a diverse population of youngsters find their way in the world. In Defense of Childhood examines American youth itself, arguing passionately that the "domestication of childhood" is robbing children of "that irreplaceable period in their lives that our culture has set aside for exploration and innocent discovery." Lamenting risk-averse parents, overstructured school days, and a lack of playtime and solitude, Mercogliano argues that children's "inner wildness" is not being nourished, leaving them ill-equipped to face adulthood. The results, he shows in a chapter on adolescence and transition, are already apparent." ""But all is not lost," Mercogliano writes. There is plenty that those involved with children can do to protect their uniqueness, spontaneity, and exuberance. We can address their desperate need for real knowledge and experience and the chance to learn from their own mistakes rather than be immunized from risk. We can step out of the whirlwind of scheduled activities, standardized tests, and electronic media and help kids to explore where their place in the adult world might lie."--BOOK JACKET.Mercogliano, Chris is the author of 'In Defense of Childhood Protecting Kids' Inner Wildness', published 2007 under ISBN 9780807032862 and ISBN 0807032867.