Gever Tulley teaches life lessons through tinkering

Translator: Ingrid Lezar Reviewer: Christo Crafford

This is the exact moment

Hierdie is die einste oomblik wat ek ’n Knutselwerkskool begin skep het.

that I started creating something called Tinkering School.

Teks: Is dit 'n stok? Jy ken die reël oor met stokke speel --ouer aan kind

Tinkering School is a place where kids can pick up sticks

Knutselwerkskool is ’n plek waar kinders stokke, hammers

and hammers and other dangerous objects,

en ander gevaarlike voorwerpe kan optel,

and be trusted.

en vertrou kan word.

Trusted not to hurt themselves,

Vertrou word om nie hulleself

and trusted not to hurt others.

of ander seer te maak nie.

Tinkering School doesn't follow a set curriculum,

Knutselwerkskool volg nie ’n vasgestelde kurrikulum nie

and there are no tests.

en daar is geen toetse nie.

We're not trying to teach anybody any specific thing.

Ons probeer nie om iemand een spesifieke ding te leer nie.

When the kids arrive

Wanneer die kinders aankom,

they're confronted with lots of stuff:

word hulle gekonfronteer met baie goeters,

wood and nails and rope and wheels,

hout en spykers en tou en wiele,

and lots of tools, real tools.

en baie regte egte gereedskap.

It's a six-day immersive experience for the kids.

Dis ’n ses-dae lange ervaring waarin die kinders hulself kan verdiep.

And within that context, we can offer the kids time --

En binne dié konteks kan ons vir die kinders tyd bied.

something that seems in short supply

Iets wat oënskynlik skaars is

in their over-scheduled lives.

in hulle oorvol lewens.

Our goal is to ensure that they leave

Ons doelwit is om te verseker dat hulle weggaan

with a better sense of how to make things

met ’n beter idee van hoe om goed te maak

than when they arrived,

as toe hulle aangekom het,

and the deep internal realization

en die diepe gewaarwording

that you can figure things out by fooling around.

dat ’n mens dinge kan baasraak deur rond te speel.

Nothing ever turns out as planned ... ever.

Niks draai ooit uit soos beplan nie.

Nooit ooit nie.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

And the kids soon learn

En die kinders leer vinnig

that all projects go awry --

dat alle projekte skeefloop --

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

and become at ease with the idea that every step

en word gerus met die idee dat elke tree in ’n projek,

in a project is a step closer

’n tree nader is aan

to sweet success,

soete sukses

or gleeful calamity.

of vrolike rampspoed.

We start from doodles and sketches.

Ons begin met krabbels en sketse.

And sometimes we make real plans.

En partykeer maak ons regte planne.

And sometimes we just start building.

En soms begin ons sommer net bou.

Building is at the heart of the experience:

Bou is ’n kerndeel van die ervaring:

hands on, deeply immersed

prakties, in dit verdiep

and fully committed to the problem at hand.

en ten volle betrokke by die taak voor hulle.

Robin and I, acting as collaborators,

Robin en ek tree op as medewerkers,

keep the landscape of the projects

en ons hou die landskap van die projekte

tilted towards completion.

gekantel na voltooiing.

Success is in the doing,

Sukses is in die doenwerk

and failures are celebrated and analyzed.

en mislukkings word gevier en geanaliseer.

Problems become puzzles

Probleme word raaisels

and obstacles disappear.

en hindernisse verdwyn.

When faced with particularly difficult

Wanneer ’n besonder moeilike terugslag of kompleksiteit opduik,

setbacks or complexities,

a really interesting behavior emerges: decoration.

kom ’n baie interessante gedrag na vore:

versiering.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Decoration of the unfinished project

Die versiering van die onvoltooide projek

is a kind of conceptual incubation.

is ’n soort konseptuele inkubasie.

From these interludes come deep insights

In die tussentyd kom diep insigte na vore

and amazing new approaches to solving the problems

en ongelooflike nuwe benaderings tot die oplossing van probleme

that had them frustrated just moments before.

wat hulle net oomblike van te vore frustreer het.

All materials are available for use.

Alle materiale is beskikbaar vir gebruik.

Even those mundane, hateful, plastic grocery bags

Selfs daardie vervelige, vieslike plastiekinkopiesakke

can become a bridge

kan ’n brug word,

stronger than anyone imagined.

sterker as wat enigiemand kon dink.

And the things that they build

En die dinge wat hulle bou,

amaze even themselves.

verbaas selfs hulleself.

Video: Three, two, one, go!

Video: Drie, twee, een, GAAN!

Gever Tulley: A rollercoaster built by seven-year-olds.

Gever Tulley: ’n Tuimeltrein gebou deur sewe-jariges.

Video: Yay!

Video: Jippie!

(Applause)

(Applous)

GT: Thank you. It's been a great pleasure.

GT: Dankie. Dit was ’n groot plesier.

(Applause)

(Applous)