I am going to go out on a limb and say that blowing bubbles with preschool age children is one of the most important activities an adult can do with a child. It is important not for the academics it teaches but because of the way of interacting with the world that it teaches. It teaches the child how to create with their breath. They see how blowing too hard pops the bubble before it takes off and blowing too soft leaves you disappointed. Kids love watching the bubbles as they float up into the air. Catching them with the wand requires a gentleness and agility that is not used with any other physical interaction but, I can imagine a myriad of ways I use that same gentleness with the people I love.

This appreciation for the act of creativity, the natural world, and our interaction with our creations is not important to a schooling system that values testing as an end. The only reason to teach with bubbles in most schools is to teach surface tension and air pressure. These are middle school science concepts.

So much of the education agenda is set by those with a concern for the economy. I agree that the economy should be a huge factor in curriculum decisions but… maybe we need some reforms based on what it means to lead a “good” life as a human being as well as a contributor to the financial well being of the country.