Last year, Huffington Post featured my friend and mentor, Jim Murphy's series of articles in which he refelcts on his insights and experiences with the connections between kids using their hands to manipulate strings and their ability to excel as students.  

It is truly wonderful how so many otherwise overlooked public school students have learned to think analytically and critically as a result of exploring string figures with Murphy! 

In our age of wireless technology and high-stakes tests, our children have lost the desire to figure something out "just because." Our kids aren't taught to build the skills of observation, thinking and discovery. And they NEVER sit idle with only their thoughts.

In the classroom, Murphy used string figures to stimulate intellectual exploration in his students. Because students must manipulate the strings for themselves, they must participate both physically and intellectually. Because the string figures have so many intricate variations, students spend hours studying, pondering and experimenting with the string, building self confidence and cognitive skills as they go. 

These days, our education system is preoccupied with "answers:" Murphy's strings simultaneously embody no answers and all answers.