Erasers/rubbers should be banned from schools, says scientist. Really?
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Erasers/rubbers – you know, those things you use to rub out your pencil marks – are an 'instrument of the devil'. So says a cognitive scientist called Guy Claxton, a visiting professor at King's College London, who wants to see them banned from all school classrooms.
"The eraser is an instrument of the devil," Professor Claxton told the Telegraph, "because it perpetuates a culture of shame about error. It’s a way of lying to the world, which says ‘I didn’t make a mistake. I got it right first time.’ That’s what happens when you can rub it out and replace it.
"Instead, we need a culture where children are not afraid to make mistakes. They look at their mistakes and they learn from them, where they are continuously reflecting and improving on what they’ve done, not being enthralled to getting the right answer quickly and looking smart."
What do you think of the professor's eraser ban idea? Do you get where he's coming from or do his words simply rub you up the wrong way?
Do let us know what you think. We'd love to know!
Replies
A lot of schools do ban rubbers. Not because it's the work of the devil but because they make so much mess when something is rubbed out & a child has written over the top it's completely illegible. Much better that children should be ok with making mistakes and in fact proving they are learning & able to correct their errors.