One difference between our work and the forbidden toy work or reverse
psychology is that the "merely understood" motive (to be a productive,
informed, literate citizen) was in the social interactions and ready to
replace the "really effective" motives that got the kids to come to/put up
with our reading groups (in which the operations of reading skills were
exercised).
-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On
Behalf Of Andy Blunden
Sent: Friday, May 13, 2011 8:26 PM
To: 'eXtended Mind, Culture,Activity'
Subject: Re: [xmca] Interests and tendency during adolescence
Oh I see, Peg! Forgive me, I'm very dumb sometimes. So simple and yet to
devious.
You make reading into "forbidden fruit" like what people call "reverse
psychology" so that even kids who never read develop and interest in
reading. Very nice.
Andy
Peg Griffin wrote:
Not adolescents, but latency age - third-4th graders.
We fiddled with tendency and growing interests a few decades ago. Some
kids took the occasion we created to sneak behind our backs and steal
the final paragraph of a (slightly revised) current newspaper story.
We had read the first two parts collaboratively with them in small
groups then "forced" them to take a break from reading (5th dimension
activities or outdoor play with each other and big sibling
undergrads). Some texts were narratives of news-worthy events (a boy
accidentally hung himself) others were expository about contemporary
science or technology development. Most of the children had a history
of not-reading - either at all or just copy-matching review questions
instead of active engagement with comprehension. We left print-outs
of the full three paragraph texts stacked with other stuff we brought
to the site each day. We chased the kids away from the text. Some
thievery succeeded, others showed interest in interrupting other
activities to come back and read the full three part texts.
Tendency to interest with impetus (like the forbidden toy studies)?
-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu]
On Behalf Of Andy Blunden
Sent: Friday, May 13, 2011 8:47 AM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: [xmca] Interests and tendency during adolescence
Is there anyone who has looked into this idea of "interest" in the
development of the adolescent? I have started reading Volume 5 of the
LSV CW and the first chapter is very interesting. I have not come
across exactly this idea before. He says: "a transformation of
tendency into interest is the true key to the problem of the
transitional age." His argumentation leading to this conclusion rings
very true, to my ears. Is there anyone on the list who has worked
further with this idea of "interest." So much of this chapter is
quotation of other authors, it is not 100% clear which ideas Vygotsky
embraces. But it seems that upbringing shapes a person according to
tendency (with habits etc.) but then the adolescent appropriates from
their environment interests which form the basis of their adult
personality, not extinguishing the tendency acquired by upbringing, but
distinct from it.
Andy
__________________________________________
_____
xmca mailing list
xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Andy Blunden*
Joint Editor MCA:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=g932564744
Home Page: http://home.mira.net/~andy/
Book: http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=227&pid=34857
MIA: http://www.marxists.org
__________________________________________
_____
xmca mailing list
xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca