The Thinking Stick says “This is a customization generation.” He’s right. Technorati Tags: ed-tech, engaged, learners, stakeholders, students, teaching, web2.0…

I wish my sons would adopt Derek’s take-charge attitude. My elder son would sit on the uncomfortable chair, twist his wrist at whatever angle the current position of the mouse required, ignore the wallpaper and the mouse. He is the sort of kid who might plonk his homework down in a puddle of milk he spilt at breakfast time, and ignor the fact that there is a pencil underneath the book, creating a great big lump in the middle, where he is trying to write. He is very laid back and takes everything in his stride. This is both a great strength and a shortcoming.

My other son is more likely to pay attention to what is wrong, but would get very annoyed that things aren’t exactly as he wants them to be. He would be likely to take it all very personally and get into a bit of a strop because he had to make all the adjustments to his workspace. For him everything is black and white and he struggles to cope with things that are not as (he thinks) they should be.

I think Derek has the right approach, but I’m not sure he’s truly representative!

A also find that today’s culture of the tall-poppy syndrome seems to be that kids should not stand out, but should just try to be like everyone else. It’s stomping all over their competitive instincts and quashing their creative individuality. Perhaps it is less prevalent elsewhere in the world (our limited experience of the US would indicate that it is gloriously absent there), but it has been a source of great frustration to us since we moved to the UK, and my cousin who teaches in New Zealand complains of the same culture there.