Counterpoint (from the perspective of a science teacher who has used LEGO as part of teaching, and who still has about 70 pounds of LEGO): LEGO pieces reinforce "blocky" engineer mindset, reinforcing the idea that we can "fix" climate change with technology.
We're up against a population boom enabled by access to fossil fuels. Our nigh-insatiable appetite for energy conversion has serious consequences for life on earth.
I'd far rather teach basketry & other fiber arts, foraging for food & medicine, land stewardship, how to hunt kill and process animals for food, and other primitive (using this word non-pejoratively) skills done as a tight-knot group (such as what a classroom can be with good leadership- not saying I provided that to the degree I value now, but if/when I go back to teaching, I will). LEGO is a distraction, a luxury enabled by the Industrial Revolution. We don't have plastic interlocking bricks without coal and petroleum and long (and easily-disrupted) supply chain.
Until a few years ago my LEGO collection, amassed in childhood, was a prized possession. Now I'd have sold it or given it away were it not for my wife advising we keep it for our child. In light of what I wrote above, while I can get down on the ground and immerse myself in creative parallel play, I'll also promote the old ways to plant the seeds of a wonderful, effortful, meaningful life that also has a more down-to-earth carbon footprint.
Climate change is not a reason to not enjoy Legos. Life is for enjoying, not for worrying about whether one's hobby is environmentally friendly enough.
We're up against a population boom enabled by access to fossil fuels. Our nigh-insatiable appetite for energy conversion has serious consequences for life on earth.
I'd far rather teach basketry & other fiber arts, foraging for food & medicine, land stewardship, how to hunt kill and process animals for food, and other primitive (using this word non-pejoratively) skills done as a tight-knot group (such as what a classroom can be with good leadership- not saying I provided that to the degree I value now, but if/when I go back to teaching, I will). LEGO is a distraction, a luxury enabled by the Industrial Revolution. We don't have plastic interlocking bricks without coal and petroleum and long (and easily-disrupted) supply chain.
Until a few years ago my LEGO collection, amassed in childhood, was a prized possession. Now I'd have sold it or given it away were it not for my wife advising we keep it for our child. In light of what I wrote above, while I can get down on the ground and immerse myself in creative parallel play, I'll also promote the old ways to plant the seeds of a wonderful, effortful, meaningful life that also has a more down-to-earth carbon footprint.