I haven't seen that movie, but now I really want to! sidenote: "Remember the Titans" was just on tv and all the girls in my house were gathered around it...SUCH a perfect example of this idea!
I think that Vygotsky is a lot more liberal when it comes to manner of interaction/with whom children interact...his ZPD (I know, I've used it twice now...I just think it's a very good "Vygotsky-in-a-nutshell" tool!) infers that opening up a child's mind by introducing new people, places, things, ideas, etc. can only help the child develop. The child will always be learning something...though Vygotsky does think it better to surround the child with those more cognitively advanced than the child. When the book describes Vygotsky's ZPD, it says "The zone includes all possible skills that children are on the verge of developing and can perform only with help from someone more cognitively advanced.." Vygotsky is a proponent of children spending time with people either older or at a higher level than them, while Piaget thinks that children should spend more time with peers, "because peers are more likely to cooperate as equals, can more easily see each other's point of view, and can more easily challenge each other." Therefore Vygotsky would be fine with a varied group of people, and Piaget would prefer that children be surrounded with others who are closer in age and ability.
I'm personally not really in agreement with either, though I would side with Vygotsky if I had to. I think that interactions with ANYbody, whether peer or adult, is beneficial to the development of the child...when it comes to grouping, I am really intrigued by the multiage classrooms...I think that they would serve the purpose of educating those with fewer skills and would begin teaching the older students how to teach, which, as one gets older, is essential.
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