In Defense of Childhood

by Chris Mercogliano

Chris MercoglianoIn Defense of Childhood: Protecting Kids’ Inner WildnessA passionate essay by a maverick educator on the need to protect the unique spark — the "inner wildness" - that animates every childAs codirector of the Albany Free School, Chris Mercogliano has had remarkable success in helping a diverse population of youngsters find their way in the world. He regrets, however, that most kids’ lives are subject to some form of control from dawn until dusk. Lamenting risk-averse parents, overstructured school days, and a lack of playtime and solitude, Mercogliano argues that we are robbing our young people of "that precious, irreplaceable period in their lives that nature has set aside for exploration and innocent discovery", leaving them ill-equipped to face adulthood. The "domestication of childhood" squeezes the adventure out of kids’ lives and threatens to smother the spark that animates each child with talents, dreams, and inclinations.There is plenty that those involved with