The Power of Novelty
The Power of Novelty The best thoughts come at the most unexpected times. On the drive to Wednesday night soccer practice, my 13-year-old son started to tell me about how the drive had him thinking about his science class and the things they were learning. “Like right now, I’m thinking about inertia.” No, this is not about to turn into a lesson on Newton’s Laws, and all the things that you have long since forgotten from your own science background. And, YES! This did quickly become a lesson from me to my son about brain science, pedagogy, and life. Poor kid. He never stood a chance! After we clarified the meaning of inertia (and he reminded me about the importance of “wait time”… he got the meaning of inertia on his own, but I bit through my tongue for at least 3-4 minutes before it happened), I tried to explain to him how adults use the word inertia in colloquialisms. “Some guy is sitting on the couch watching ...