Author, educator defends a childhood that allows ‘inner wildness’

Bellingham Herald – October 03, 2007
By Kie Relyea

Educator Chris Mercogliano wastes no time jumping into the quagmire in his new book, “In Defense of Childhood: Protecting Kids' Inner Wildness.” “Childhood is in trouble,” he writes in the opening line. He blames children’s overstructured lives — from standardized tests, to heavy homework loads, to after-school and before-school activities — for squeezing what he calls the “juice” or the “inner wildness” out of youngsters. “All of childhood is becoming so managed and so controlled,” Mercogliano says. “This whole idea of totally scripting education is almost going to put the finishing touches on kids.” The long-term result? Today’s “domesticated” children…

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