A friend Jackie sent me a link to a program called "the Woodpile" in which children are given the opportunity to assemble and glue scrap blocks discarded by construction sites. It is a great program in that children who have learned only the computer and electronic games are given at least a very small chance to actually engage in working with real materials with all their tactile qualities, mass, weight and solid form. It is also a sad commentary on the state of our children's education. Playing with blocks was the kind of thing previously learned in preschool and commonly part of normal play in most homes. It has been cleanly erased from much of the educational landscape as children's time is structured to eliminate real play, and as they are left with only one tool to explore, a powerfully engaging one that carries them deep into entertainment and guarantees their successful escape from reality.