Mark Rober is one of my sons’ favorite Youtube stars. Having seen the game walk throughs, ridiculous movie reviews, and general garbage they watch, I wrote him off before watching any of his videos.
My sons are tenacious and I quickly learned that this guy is the real deal. He comes up with exciting goals and engineers his way to reaching them.
When I found out that he’s done a couple Ted Talks, I took the chance on one of our We Each Get to Pick One Youtube Video Before Bed nights.
The talk is about how a goal-focused approach to learning leads to more success and more lessons learned. Negative point scoring (as in tests) discourages people and focuses them on the mistakes rather than how to overcome obstacles to reach a goal.
It’s hard to trust the freedom I give my sons when they’re watching a pale waif of a boy (man?) scream at pixels on a screen. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand the value they find there. On the flip side are the Mark Rober and how-to videos. They take ownership in what they want to consume. When learners take ownership, they are empowered.